Adult Stem Cell Therapy in Spine Surgery

Adult stem cell therapy is a powerful form of medical care that uses bone marrow cells to help treat spine problems. Doctors often use bone marrow concentrate cell therapy during spinal fusion surgery. This can help lessen the chances of certain side effects associated with traditional surgery.

What Is Adult Stem Cell Therapy in Spinal Fusion Surgery?

Cell therapy in spinal fusion uses a patient’s own bone marrow to help treat severe back problems. The cells from bone marrow can help doctors reinforce or repair tissues treated during spine surgery. This form of cell therapy has helped thousands of patients suffering from common forms of back pain.

How Does Cell Therapy in Spine Surgery Work?

Cell therapy treatments work by replacing or enhancing damaged or missing cells and tissues in the spine. The specific mechanism of action varies depending on the type of cell therapy used. In spine surgeries, the most common form of cell therapy uses the patient’s own concentrated bone marrow.

Bone Marrow Concentrate (BMC) treatments collect platelets and cells from bone marrow tissue. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and other adult stem cells are components of BMC. Once the adult stem cell-containing BMC is prepared, a doctor mixes it with graft material to form a paste, putty or log. The doctor then uses the BMC-enhanced graft during the course of a surgical procedure.

In the case of spinal fusion, doctors use BMC-enhanced grafts in the following ways:

• Alongside Stabilizing Rods and Screws: In many cases, spinal fusion surgery uses metal rods held in place by screws. These rods and screws help stabilize the operated part of the spine. Doctors often place BMC-enhanced graft material alongside this stabilizing hardware. This can encourage bone to grow around the hardware, providing additional support and stability.
• Inside an Implant: Doctors commonly place BMC-containing graft material inside spine implants. These implants may be called spacers, because they help restore height between adjacent vertebrae. The BMC-containing graft may help maintain this space by encouraging bone growth inside the implant.

When used in spinal surgery, patients generally do not notice immediate pain relief or symptom improvement due to cell therapy. But over time, patients may experience fewer side effects, faster healing and/or more durable results.

Results: How Effective is Cell Therapy in Spinal Fusion?

In one study, BMC-treated spinal fusion patients had a success rate more than 3x that of patients not receiving BMC. All study patients underwent spinal fusion to treat degenerative disc disease. One group received BMC-enhanced bone grafts while the other group had regular bone grafts. At 12-month follow-up, the groups showed stark differences.
About 15% of BMC-treated patients had achieved spinal fusion versus 0% of the non-BMC-treated patients. These differences carried through to the 2-year follow-up as well. At that point, 35% of BMC-treated patients had achieved spinal fusion. Only 10% of patients not receiving BMC had achieved fusion at the same point in time.

Pain relief, improvements in disability and speed of spinal fusion can all vary. A patient’s outcomes will depend on their unique situation. If you are interested in cell therapy for spinal fusion, you should discuss it with an experienced regenerative medicine physician today.

Benefits of a Cell Therapy in Spinal Fusion

Cell therapy benefits can vary based upon the type of treatment, the area treated and patient factors. Cell therapy in spinal fusions can provide several potential benefits, including:

• Faster fusion
• Better chance of achieving full fusion
• Less pain versus traditional iliac crest bone graft

Cell therapy spinal surgery patients may not experience all of the above benefits. Patients weighing the benefits of cell therapy for spine surgery should discuss this procedure with a physician. The physician can explain how a cell therapy may or may not benefit the patient.

Side Effects of Cell Therapy Injections in the Spine

As with all medical procedures, cell therapy during spinal fusion may cause side effects. However, patients may not be able to distinguish which side effects come from the main surgery and which do not. The most common side effects from procuring BMC is soreness bone marrow draw site. Patients may also have a temporary pain increase in the treated tissue. This generally resolves in one to two weeks.

Eligibility for Cell Therapy in Spinal Fusion

Eligibility for cell therapy-enhancement of spine surgery can depend on several factors including the specific condition, its severity, and the patient’s goals.  Patients considering cell therapy for back pain should speak with a regenerative medicine doctor.

Selected Eligibility Criteria for Cell Therapy Injections in the Spine and Back

Procedure Details: What to Expect From Cell Therapy Enhancement of Spinal Fusion

Cell therapy enhancement of spinal fusion will vary with the location of surgery, implant choices, and physician preferences. However, cell therapy enhanced spine surgeries do share a few common features.

1: Consultation Appointment

Before a doctor recommends BMC-enhancement of spine surgery, they will evaluate the patient for eligibility. This evaluation includes a general physical in addition to examination of the patient’s symptoms. If the patient is eligible, the doctor will add BMC-enhancement to the patient’s surgery order.

2: Pre-Treatment Preparation

Patients will receive instructions for pre-surgery preparation. It is important that the patient reads, understands and follows all instructions prior to surgery.

3: Cell Therapy Enhancement of Spinal Fusion Surgery

After the patient is rolled into the operating room, cell therapy-enhanced spine surgeries generally include the steps below.

1. Collection of Bone Marrow: A healthcare provider will draw bone marrow from the patient’s hip bone. This occurs after the patient is under general anesthesia. Bone marrow aspiration takes less than 10 minutes.
2. Processing of Patient’s Cells: A trained specialist will process the bone marrow in a sterile device. It takes less than 20 minutes to complete processing with the [BMC device name]. Once processed, the  BMC is ready for the doctor to use.
3. Adding BMC to the Graft: The BMC will be transferred to the sterile field. Once there, a nurse or surgery technician will incorporate the BMC into the bone graft material. This may include packing the BMC-containing graft into a spinal implant called a cage or spacer.
4. Placing the Implants and Graft Material: The surgeon will place the BMC-containing graft at the appropriate spinal level. The surgeon may also add BMC-enhanced bone graft to any rods and screws placed on the posterior region of the operated spinal level.

Once BMC-enhanced bone grafts have been placed, the doctor will follow standard protocol to finish the surgery. Once the entire surgery is complete, the patient will be moved from the OR to recovery room for monitoring.

4: Recovery and Rehabilitation

Spinal fusion is a serious surgery that may require months of rehab and therapy. It is important that patients follow all of the doctor’s recommendations for recovery and rehabilitation.