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My doctor said he would be using a bone graft. What does this mean? What is a bone graft? |
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A bone graft is a piece of bone either from yourself called autograft or from a bone bank called allograft that will be placed in the disc space after all the disc is removed to cause the vertebrae to fuse. An autograft is superior to an allograft to cause fusion to take place. This is particularly true if you are a smoker. However, getting an autograft usually from your hip can result in a very painful hip. Therefore, most surgeons are using allografts with bone growth stimulating agents internally, externally or both.
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