BACKGROUND Anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion (ACDF) is a well-established surgical treatment for radiculopathy and myelopathy. Previous studies showed that empty PEEK cages have lower radiographic fusion rates, but the clinical relevance remains unclear. This paper's aim is to provide high-quality evidence on the outcomes of ACDF with empty PEEK cages and on the relevance of radiographic ...

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) has gained interest in many industrial applications due to its high strength-to-weight ratio, excellent heat tolerance and high corrosion resistance. Stress concentrators such as notches and geometrical discontinuities are present in many such components necessitating the reliable assessment of notch sensitivity of PEEK in monotonic tension. Here we evaluate the appl...

OBJECTIVES Fracture strength is an important factor influencing the clinical long-term success of implant-supported prostheses especially in high stress situations like excessive crown height space (CHS). The purpose of this study was to compare the fracture strength of implant-supported fixed partial dentures (FPDs) with excessive crown height, fabricated from three different materials. MATE...

BACKGROUND Combination of surgery and radiotherapy in the treatment of primary spine tumour can be indicated in some cases where a satisfactory oncological margin cannot be achieved. The presence of metal hardware has always limited post-operative radiotherapy due to the scattering effects of ionizing radiation or particles. The use of a fixation system (including rods and screw) fully made in ...

BACKGROUND Carbon-fiber-reinforced poly-ether-ether-ketone (CFR-PEEK) has superior radiolucency compared to other orthopedic implant materials, e.g. titanium or stainless steel, thus allowing metal-artifact-free postoperative monitoring by computed tomography (CT). Recently, high-resolution peripheral quantitative CT (HRpQCT) proved to be a promising technique to monitor the recovery of volumet...

STUDY DESIGN Prospective randomized noninferiority trial. PURPOSE To evaluate whether the union rate of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) using a polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cage filled with a mixture of hydroxyapatite (HA) and demineralized bone matrix (DBM) is inferior to that of a mixture of β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) and HA. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE There have been no cli...

The friction and wear performance of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene(UHMWPE) and pure poly-ether-etherketone(PEEK) polymers were comparatively evaluated under dry sliding and cacao drops lubrication. The sliding experiments were carried out on a pin-on-disc tribometer. The contact configuration used was a polymer pin on a rotating stainless steel disc. Wear tests were carried out at ro...

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a material suitable for frameworks of fixed dental prostheses. The effect of different surface treatments on the bond strength of PEEK bonded to human dentin was evaluated. One hundred PEEK cylinders (3 mm×3 mm) were divided into five groups according to surface treatment: silica coating, sandblasting with 45 μm Al2O3 particles, etching with 98% sulfuric acid for ...

OBJECTIVE The authors conducted a retrospective study to compare the implantation of carbon fiber composite frame cages (CFCFCs) to the implantation of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cages after anterior cervical discectomy for cervical degenerative disc disease. In addition, the predictive factors that influenced fusion or subsidence were investigated. METHODS A total of 58 patients with single...

The aim of this study was to assess the performance of a new vacuum plasma sprayed (VPS) titanium-coated carbon/polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cage under first use clinical conditions. Forty-two patients who underwent a one or two segment transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) procedure with a new Ca/PEEK composite cage between 2012 and 2016 were retrospectively identified by an electronic ...