Narrow corridor, small bone lesion: MIS delivery or open packing?

You're in an IU Health OR. You've curetted a small, contained benign lesion through a narrow corridor. You don't want to make a larger opening just to pack graft. Many surgeons ask if the ACTIFUSE MIS applicator can deliver the scaffold through a small cannula.

Benign bone lesions like simple cysts or enchondromas often leave a defect after curettage. You need to fill the void with a graft that resorbs as new bone grows in. The problem: your access hole is small. A large open window adds surgical time and recovery burden. With a narrow corridor, you can't pack graft by hand without making it bigger. That's where a minimally invasive delivery system helps.

The MIS approach uses a delivery cannula with an inner plunger. The graft, like ACTIFUSE, is injected through the cannula into the defect. This works for small, contained lesions with a clear entry path. Procedure time is similar to open packing when you factor in setup, but the patient has a smaller incision, less pain, and faster healing. If the lesion is large, multi-lobular, or at a tricky angle, open packing gives you better control. The choice depends on defect size and access. No extra cost comes with the MIS applicator—it's part of the ACTIFUSE kit.

This week, review your pending cases at IU Health. If a small, contained lesion could be filled through a narrow corridor, the MIS approach may simplify things. Elite Surgical can bring an ACTIFUSE MIS kit to your OR and teach your team during a case or in-service. Ask for the published studies that compare MIS to open packing in benign lesions.

Once the graft is in place, the scaffold supports bone remodeling. The corridor heals quickly, and your patient returns to normal activity sooner. You addressed the lesion with less surgical trauma, and you've added a reproducible technique for future cases.

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