It is used instead of taking bone from the hip in spinal fusion surgeries in which extra bone is added to the spine to fuse parts of the back together, stabilizing it.
But as Matthew Herper observed back in June, Medtronic has received something of a black eye this year in connection with its promotion of a key product, recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2, (rhBMP-2) which is designed to speed healthy bone growth and fusion in patients with back pain.
The most serious bunions are treated with a joint-fusion surgical procedure known as a lapidus bunionectomy, in which the first metatarsal and the next bone back, a cuneiform, are fused together.