Iliac crest graft: late postoperative evaluation of 228 donor sites

ABSTRACT

A retrospective study of 228 iliac crest graft donor areas was carried out in 220 patients after iliac graft donation. The average follow up period was 89 months. The commonest indications were ununited fractures and cavity filling. The complications were all avoidable. The persistence of pain [58 cases] was due to scar problems, infection, hernia, and lateral cutaneous nerve of the thigh entrapment. Iliac crest deformity followed uneven taking, big defect left fractures and irregularity of growth in children. In the non-symptomatizing cases the incision had been done distal to the iliac crest, the graft had been taken posteriorly and/or anteriorly, without leaving a defect, and the iliac edge was smooth and even, and the scar was a primary intention nonadherent one. A precise surgical technique, gentle handling and paying due attention to this part of the operation, pre and postoperatively, lead to the avoidance of the postoperative complications