ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a periosteal sleeve preserced fibular strut graft for the minimization of donor site complications. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between September 1998 and March 2005, 20 patients who were followed for more than 12 months after the fibular sturt graft for a bone defect using a periosteal sleeve preservation technique were evaluated. The mean age was 13.3 years (range, 2-29 years) and the mean follow-up period was 16.2 months (range, 12-36 months). RESULTS: The mean time for the union of the primary disease was 3.3 months (range, 2-6 months) and for regeneration of the donor site was 9.1 weeks (range, 4-12 weeks) in 13 cases. Partial regeneration developed in 6 cases and there was no regeneration in 1 case. There were 2 cases of donor site complications. CONCLUSION: The new fibular strut graft technique is very effective method for reconstruction of a bone defect with a minimization of the donor site complications particularly in children.