Allograft

Spinal fusion, also called spondylodesis or spondylosyndesis, is a surgery performed by orthopaedic surgeons or neurosurgeons that joins two or more vertebrae. This procedure can be performed at any level in the spine (cervical, thoracic, lumbar, or sacral) and prevents any movement between the fused vertebrae. There are many types of spinal fusion and each technique involves using bone grafting—either from the patient (autograft), donor (allograft), or artificial bone substitutes—to help the bones heal together. Additional hardware (screws, plates, or cages) is often used to hold the bones in place while the graft fuses the two vertebrae together. The placement of hardware can be guided by fluoroscopy, navigation systems, or robotics.

Spinal fusion is most commonly performed to relieve the pain and pressure from mechanical pain of the vertebrae or on the spinal cord that results when a disc (cartilage between two vertebrae) wears out (degenerative disc disease). It is also used as a backup procedure for total disc replacement surgery (intervertebral disc arthroplasty), in case patient anatomy prevents replacement of the disc. Other common pathological conditions that are treated by spinal fusion include spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, spondylosis, spinal fractures, scoliosis, and kyphosis.

Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for end-stage liver disease and acute liver failure, although the availability of donor organs is a major limitation. Liver transplantation is highly regulated and only performed at designated transplant medical centers by highly trained transplant physicians. Favorable outcomes require careful screening for eligible recipients, as well as a well-calibrated live or deceased donor match.

Saddle nose is a condition associated with nasal trauma, congenital syphilis, relapsing polychondritis, granulomatosis with polyangiitis, cocaine abuse, and leprosy, among other conditions. The most common cause is nasal trauma. It is characterized by a loss of height of the nose, because of the collapse of the nasal bridge. The depressed nasal dorsum may involve bony, cartilaginous, or both bony and cartilaginous components of the nasal dorsum.

It can usually be corrected with augmentation rhinoplasty by filling the dorsum of the nose with cartilage, bone or synthetic implant. If the depression is only cartilaginous, cartilage is taken from the nasal septum or auricle and laid in single or multiple layers. If deformity involves both cartilage and bone, cancellous bone from iliac crest is the best replacement. Autografts are preferred over allografts. Saddle deformity can also be corrected by synthetic implants of teflon or silicon, but they are likely to be extruded.