Use of allograft bone for posterior C1–2 fusion

Object An iliac crest autograft is the gold standard for bone grafting in posterior atlantoaxial arthrodesis but can be associated with significant donor-site morbidity. Conversely, an allograft has historically performed suboptimally for atlantoaxial arthrodesis as an onlay graft. The authors have modified a bone grafting technique to allow placement of a bicortical iliac crest allograft in an interpositional manner, and they evaluated it as an alternative to an autograft in posterior atlantoaxial arthrodesis. Methods The records of 89 consecutive patients in whom C1–2 arthrodesis was performed between 2001 and 2005 were reviewed. Results Forty-seven patients underwent 48 atlantoaxial arthrodeses with an allograft (mean follow-up 16.1 months, range 0–49 months), and 42 patients underwent autograft bone grafting (mean follow-up 17.6 months, range 0–61.0 months). The operative time was 50 minutes shorter in the allograft (mean 184 minutes, range 106–328 minutes) than in the autograft procedure (mean 234 mi...