Donor site morbidity after bone harvesting from the anterior iliac crest

Objectives. Autologous bone grafting is a common, standard procedure in maxillofacial surgery. We investigated complications of harvesting bone from the anterior iliac crest. Study design. A retrospective analysis with a 2-year observational period included 75 patients who had undergone iliac bone grafting. Two techniques were examined: the closed osteotomy using a cylinder osteotome (Shepard) and an open procedure with a saw. Results. One major complication, a fracture of the anterior superior iliac spine, was observed (0.7%). Regarding long-term morbidity, 3 patients (4%) suffered from persistent pain and 2 (2.7%) from persistent sensory disturbance. A correlation by gender showed greater severity of pain directly after graft harvesting in women (P-Wilcoxon <= .001). Harvesting of corticocancellous blocks caused more pain than with the cylinder osteotome (P-Median <= .07). Conclusion. The morbidity after iliac crest harvesting was found to be moderate to low, but the procedure is still necessary and frequently used. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2010; 109: 52-58)