The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery recently included a report on complications in patients who underwent cervical spine surgery with recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein.
The study included 1 million patients from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database who underwent cervical spinal fusion from 2003 to 2010. There were 7.96 percent who received rhBMP. The researchers found rhBMP was a significant predictor of complications:
• Dysphagia
• Dysphonia
• Hematoma/seroma formation
• Neurological complications
The complications were most common after anterior cervical fusion surgery, and wound infections and neurological complications were most common after posterior cervical fusion. Dysphagia was most common after circumferential fusion.
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