Background: Bioabsorbable implants are not widely used in spine surgery. This study investigated the clinical and\r\nradiological findings after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) in an ovine animal model with an\r\nexperimental bioabsorbable cage consisting of magnesium and polymer (poly-e-caprolactone, PCL) in comparison\r\nto a tricortical bone graft as the gold standard procedure.\r\nMaterials and Methods: 24 full-grown sheep had ACDF of C3/4 and C5/6 with an experimental bioabsorbable\r\nimplant (magnesium and PCL) in one level and an autologous tricortical bone graft in the second level. The sheep\r\nwere divided into 4 groups (6 sheep each). After 3, 6, 12, or 24 weeks postoperatively, the cervical spines were\r\nharvested and conventional x-rays of each operated segment were conducted. The progress of interbody fusion\r\nwas classified according to a three-point scoring system.\r\nResults: There were no operation related complications except for one intraoperative fracture of the anterior\r\nsuperior iliac spine and two cases of screw loosening and sinking, respectively. In particular, no vascular, neurologic,\r\nwound healing or infectious problems were observed. According to the time of follow-up, both interbody fusion\r\ndevices showed similar behaviour with increasing intervertebral osseointegration and complete arthrodesis in 10 of\r\n12 (83.3%) motion segments after 24 weeks.\r\nConclusions: The bioabsorbable magnesium-PCL cage used in this experimental animal study showed clinically no\r\nsigns of incompatibility such as infectious or wound healing problems. The radiographic results regarding the\r\nosseointegration are comparable between the cage and the bone graft group.
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