Delayed fracture of fibular strut allograft following multilevel anterior cervical spine corpectomy and fusion.

STUDY

DESIGN

Case report.

OBJECTIVE

To report the occurrence of the rare complication of fibular strut graft fractures in 2 patients.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Fatigue fracture of fibular strut allograft following anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion has rarely been reported.

METHODS

Two patients sustained delayed fractures of their anterior fibular strut allografts following combined three-level cervical corpectomy and posterior instrumented fusion at 9 and 17 months after surgery. Both patients had successfully fused both ends of their anterior strut grafts.

RESULTS

Both patients were successfully treated by revision posterior instrumented fusion without revision of the anterior strut. These patients' allografts were harvested from the same donor, a 69-year-old woman. The tissue bank involved does not use donor age or osteoporosis as exclusion criteria for structural allograft donation.

CONCLUSIONS

The fact that this relatively rare complication occurred in 2 patients who shared the same donor suggests that the mechanical strength of the donor allograft may have played a significant role in both fractures.