Use of titanium cages with cancellous bone graft in hind foot fusion: literature review and case reports with complications

Abstract

Titanium cylindrical surgical mesh cages have been developed for use in spine surgery as intervertebral spacers and for vertebral defect replacement [1–5].Their use has been extended to treat long bone segmental defects and the technique to achieve this has been reported [6]. However, there are no reports on use of these cages to achieve ankle arthrodesis in patients. We came across two cases where titanium cylindrical cages with bone graft were used to achieve ankle arthrodesis. These cases were associated with complications of infection in one and bone resorption with collapse in the other. A review of the literature on the use of titanium cages elsewhere than in spine surgery is presented.