*2.1.1 Anterior lumbar interbody fusion*

Burkus and colleagues demonstrated that patients administered with recombinant rhBMP-2 inside a Lumbar Tapered Fusion Device (LT-CAGE) had statistically significant lower length of surgery, lower duration of hospitalization and higher fusion rates at 6 months, 1 year and 2 years, compared to patients administered with the conventional ICBG [16]. In another clinical study, Burkus and co-worker compared the administration effect of rhBMP-2 in ALIF with structural cortical allografts and the INTER FIX Threaded Fusion Device to ICBG [17]. They concluded that patients administered with rhBMP- 2 exhibited better clinical and radiographic results, compared to ICBG patients [18]. Furthermore Burkus and colleagues reported that they recorded a superior and higher rates of radiographic fusion compared to the control group, in addition they demonstrated that rhBMP- 2 resulted into an improved ODI outcomes, enhanced radiographic fusion rate, compared to the ICBG control group. **Table 1** shows a summary of different available clinical studies demonstrating the potency of rhBMP-2 in increasing fusion rates of various spine surgeries.
