EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION AND CLINICAL APPLICATION OF COMBINED BONE-CARBON IMPLANTS AND BONE AUTOGRAFTS FOR ANTERIOR SPINAL FUSION IN TUBERCULOUS SPONDYLITIS
Objective. To present and assess the efficacy of the method of primary stabilization of the spine using combined bonecarbon implant in surgical treatment of patients with tuberculous spondylitis. Material and Methods. Mechanical properties of the Gargo carbon-carbonic implant were studied and clinical application of newly developed combined implant was analyzed. The clinical stage of the study included analysis of surgical treatment results in 20 patients with tuberculous spondylitis operated on using combined bone-carbon implant (Group 1). Results of surgical treatment of 31 patients with tuberculous spondylitis who underwent anterior fusion with bone autograft were used for comparison (Group 2). Results. Experimental study showed that carbon-carbon implant bears greater static loads as compared with autografts. The engineered combined bone-carbon implant possesses a significant strength margin and biological compatibility. The incidence of bony ankylosis was greater in Group 1 (90.0 %) than in Group 2 (67.7 %). The treatment efficiency was 83.3 % in Group 1 and 71.1 % in Group 2, and excellent and good results were achieved in 88.2 % and 77.8 % of cases, respectively. Conclusion. Results of application of combined bone-carbon implant for tuberculous spondylitis showed its high efficiency when compared with conventionally used osteoplasty.