Bone Graft in Spinal Fusion . Spinal fusion succeeds or fails on biology + hardware. Screws, rods, and cages hold the segment still. #Bonegraft is often used to turn two vertebrae into one. Every graft is judged on (3) basic properties. Osteogenesis means it carries living cells capable of forming bone. Osteoinduction means it signals stem cells to become bone-forming cells. Osteoconduction means it supplies a scaffold new bone can grow across. A material with all (3) can stand alone. A material missing one must be paired with something that supplies the rest. . Autograft is the patient's own bone, taken from the iliac crest or recycled from local bone removed during decompression. It is the only option that delivers all (3) properties and cannot be rejected. The tradeoffs are donor site pain, added operative time, blood loss, and a finite supply. . Allograft is donated human bone processed and screened through a tissue bank. It comes in useful shapes and sizes, carries very low disease transmission risk, and works mainly as a scaffold the body gradually replaces with its own bone. . Demineralized bone matrix (DBM) is allograft bone acid treated to strip the mineral phase, leaving collagen and the growth factors held within it, including bone morphogenetic proteins. That unmasked biology gives DBM osteoinductive potential standard allograft lacks. It has no structural strength, so it serves as a graft extender rather than a stand-alone graft. Potency varies by product and donor, so know what you are using. . Synthetic ceramics and recombinant growth factors round out the options. There is no universally best graft. The right choice reflects the levels fused, patient age, bone quality, and healing risk factors such as smoking, procedure and surgeon preference. . 👇 SHARE your #spinefusion journey & success . . 🎥 @Arthrex - Arthrocell™️ #spinesurgery #orthopedics