Coral as graft in cervical spine surgery

The value of using biodegradable devices and particularly coral in cervical spine surgery is linked to the desire to supress the disadvantages of taking bone graft for arthrodeses (using the Robinson's technique), be it iliac, fibular or tibial. The chemical, microscopical, biomechanical and clinical study of coral since 1970 enabled us to show the value of a material whose structure resembles that of bone, degrading itself completely and being replaced by newly formed bone. Our first results in 37 cases confirm these data by studying the evolution of coral, the good clinical tolerance, its good radiological incorporation with no alteration of the static balance of the cervical spine. A literature review on the subject of the use of biodegradable devices shows the advantages and disadvantages of each explaining the reason for our choice.