AUTOGENOUS ILIAC CREST BONE-GRAFT - COMPLICATIONS AND FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT

Functional outcomes and complications experienced by adult patients wh o underwent iliac crest bone grafting were evaluated to assess the eff ect of bone grafts on patient function, In addition to retrospective c hart reviews, patients completed the Sickness Impact Profile and a det ailed questionnaire on pain, One hundred ninety-two patients met study inclusion criteria, Major complications were recorded in four (2.4%) patients in whom infections developed requiring readmission, Thirty-se ven (21.8%) patients had minor complications, One hundred nineteen of 170 patients were available for followup; of these 119 patients, 87 (7 3.1%) returned completed questionnaires, Thirty-three of 87 (37.9%) pa tients reported pain 6 months postoperatively. The incidence of pain d ecreased with time, with 16 of 87 (18.7%) patients continuing to repor t pain more than 2 years postoperatively. Proportionately more spine p atients reported pain at ail time points, The mean Sickness Impact Pro file score for patients completing questionnaires was nine, suggesting most patients were functioning well 2 gears postoperatively. The morb idity of iliac crest grafting remains substantial, Pain symptoms in th is study sample seemed to last longer in more patients than earlier se ries have indicated, Minimizing muscle dissection around donor sites a nd the advent of hone graft substitutes may help alleviate these probl ems.