Is there a way to help lumbar fusion surgery heal faster?

A recent study evaluated lumbar fusion using periosteal cells harvested from the tibia that were cultered and then placed in a polymer fleece. This was compared to fusion surgery using the standard cancellous bone harvested from the iliac crest. At six months, 63.6 percent of subjects using periosteal cells versus 20 percent of the subjects using cancellous bone were fused according to dynamic radiographs. At nine months, 90.9 percent of the subjects using periosteal cells demonstrated fusion versus 40 percent of the cancellous bone group.