ACTIFUSE bone graft for spinal fusion

Your patient had a spinal fusion. The back is healing fine. But they can't stop complaining about the spot where you took bone from their hip. It hurts more than the actual surgery site.

Stop harvesting from the iliac crest. A synthetic bone graft substitute like ACTIFUSE removes the second surgical site entirely. No harvest means no donor site pain, no extra scar, and one less thing to manage post-op. The fusion rates are the same without the extra morbidity.

Your patient smokes and needs a posterolateral spinal fusion. You know nicotine kills fusion rates. You are not sure which bone graft substitute can overcome that risk.

Look for a synthetic graft with published fusion data in high-risk patients. ACTIFUSE has a 93% fusion rate in an independent spine study, comparable to BMP-2, without the need to harvest hip bone. Discuss smoking cessation, but choose a graft that has shown strong results even when patient compliance is imperfect.

Your hospital is pushing cost containment. You need to know the true per-level cost of a synthetic bone graft, including the avoided expense of iliac crest harvest and its complications.

Calculate the all-in cost: graft price, OR time for harvest, donor site pain management, and readmissions for nonunion. A synthetic graft like ACTIFUSE often costs more up front but eliminates harvest-related expenses. Ask your rep for a cost-per-fusion analysis that includes complication avoidance.

You did a posterolateral spine fusion with a synthetic bone graft. On the post-op CT, you see some graft material has moved away from the fusion bed. You are not sure if this will affect the fusion or if you need to do something.

Small amounts of graft migration outside the intended area are common and often do not harm the fusion. If the graft is far from the fusion site or compressing a nerve, revision may be needed. Check the CT carefully for any contact with neural structures. If there are no symptoms and the bulk of graft is in place, monitor the fusion progress on the next scan.

You have a patient who needs a 3-level spine fusion. You are worried about the higher nonunion risk. You want to pick the best bone graft substitute to give the fusion the strongest chance.

Look for a graft with clinical data in multilevel fusions. A synthetic graft with a high published fusion rate, like ACTIFUSE (93% in a large series), can be a strong choice. Avoid grafts that rely on the patient's own bone growth factors if the patient is a smoker or has poor biology. Consider a moldable form to cover the long fusion bed evenly.

You are doing an MIS TLIF. You need a bone graft that flows through a narrow cannula without clogging. You are not sure whether to use the FLOW syringe or the MIS delivery system.

ACTIFUSE FLOW comes in a syringe for precise, low-pressure delivery into tight bony spaces. ACTIFUSE MIS is a purpose-built system for minimally invasive spine and orthopedic procedures, offering longer reach and controlled placement. If you are working through a small portal and need to fill a far corner, MIS gives you more control. For straightforward contained defects, FLOW is faster.