Human cadaver femoral head homografts for anterior cervical spine fusions.

Cylindrical, dowel shaped human cadaver bone homografts from the heads of femurs were excised under sterile conditions. Forty-one of these grafts were stored at -80 degrees C and, on thawing, were used in performing anterior cervical spine fusions. Nineteen grafts were freeze-dried, stored at room temperature, reconstituted in saline and used in identical fashion. The use of these grafts, rather than those obtained from the ileum, offered several advantages. The grafts could be cut to a desired length of up to 2.5 cm and were composed of a very dense cancellous bone. Graft collapse and graft extrusion were not encountered.