The best hospitals/clinics/centers/doctors that specialize in scoliosis treatment

[skybonus]

I found that is interesting. It said the cost of implants in patients with rhBMP-2 was more than three times the cost of allograft.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17387522

[HaleyMom]

WNCmom, on adults they combine allograft (cadaver bone) or autograft (patient harvested bone) with BMP. Again, I think it's rare to find a surgeon who'll use rhBMP-2 on kids at *all*.

Pam

I'm a medical researcher for a drug company and briefly worked with BMP2 many years ago - though, I was looking at it from an oncology point of view.

The consequences of BMP2 in children, woman who may eventually become pregnant and patients recovering from cancer is still unclear. BMP2 acts as a potent growth stimulator. The rhBMP2 leaches out of the sponges and can promote abnormal growth at other sites - therefore not appropriate for growing children or patients harboring undetected metastesis. The issue for young woman is that they develop antibodies to the rhBMP that have the potential to cross the placenta. It's still not clear what effect these may have on a developing fetus or how long-lived the antibodies might be.

One needs to think carefully before chosing this option.

[txmarinemom]

Skybonus, I'm sure it is easily more expensive ... as I said, they don't use BMP2 alone (they combine it with either autograft or allograft), so you're paying for graft material PLUS rhBMP-2, and it is *not* cheap.

However, you can't compare the surgery they're describing (with the PEEK cages - the only FDA approved use of BMP2) to the way they use it in posterior fusion and instrumentation (which is NOT FDA approved). This isn't the same surgery ... this article you cited is about anterior cervical fusion.

BTW, if anyone wants to see how they place the absorbable collagen sponges (ACS) and then pack with graft material, there are a few slides in surgery photos that clearly demonstrate it.

I don't regret it at ALL - especially when it can cut fusion time by 2/3rds or more. I, personally, had no interest in waiting a year to resume my life.

HaleyMom, interesting info I had not seen ... thanks for posting that: I'll have to see what else I can dig up on the topic.

Luckily I fall into none of the "at risk" groups. (most certainly not young - nor planning to become pregnant ... barring some immaculate intervention!)

That IS really good information for people who DO, however .

Regards,
Pam

[leahdragonfly]

BMP with bone marrow

Hi everyone,

interesting topic above. I will have to have a revision at some point of a failed fusion at L4-5. The surgeon I liked best (at OHSU) told me he would use a bone dowel placed through a TLIF, then he would extract some of my bone marrow and mix it with BMP and place this in the fusion bed. I have not heard of this before--has anyone else? My failed fusion was using autograft from my iliac crest (24 years ago, w/o instrumentation).

[eljamo17]

hmm

ok. I keep hearing about shriners.
But could someone please give me Dr. Lenke's contact info so that I might be able to contact him for an appointment or something.

[mariaf]

The phone number to the St. Louis Shriners Hospital, where Lenke practices, is 314-432-2930. I got the number from their website, btw.

Good luck.