Will Expandable interbody cages succeed in the spinal market? According to many surgeons and many of the Spinal companies, these new devices may help surgeons improve efficiency in the operating room and increase patient safety during TLIF, PLIF and even Lateral cages procedures. These advantages are the following:
- Expandable interbody cages allow to the surgeon to go through a small corridor and change the geometry of the cage to correspond to what the patient’s spine requires
- These implants may help protect a patient’s nerve roots and other structures in the area near the cage or along the corridor through which they are implanted.
- Also, they can sometimes be implanted with a minimally invasive surgical procedure.
Other surgeons think that Expandable cages might have their place are not so convinced mainly for two reasons:
- The force of the expansion mechanism can fracture the endplate which exposes cancellous bone of the vertebral interior. This in turn can cause osteolysis if the surgeon uses bone morphogenic protein and also allow subsidence losing the distraction important in realignment.
- In many implants, the mechanism of distraction, may occupy space that could be filled with bone graft. This reduction of bone graft makes fusion less likely and might slow fusion down.
In any case, the number of expandible cages is growing and more and more companies are completing their cages portfolio with these devices and time will tell if they are here to stay or if they will dissapear in the next years. Learn about the 27 most relevant Expandible cages: https://thespinemarketgroup.com/expandable-cages/.
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