Bone-fibrin mixture in spinal surgery.

When bone grafting is performed adjacent to the spinal cord, instability of the grafted bone can result in compression of the spinal cord. To prevent this complication, fibrin sealant was mixed with the fine fragments of autogeneic bone, and the resultant pastelike mixture was used as a graft material. Operative procedures performed were posterolateral fusion (11 cases), anterior fusion (seven cases), and grafting into the bone defect (one case). After solidification of fibrin sealant, the autogeneic bone grafts were found to be firmly fixed in place, resulting in good bony fusion, and there were none of the neurologic symptoms associated with graft instability. No neurotoxicity was observed in any of these patients. Fibrin sealant was found to be an effective material for spinal surgery.