Complications following autologous bone graft harvesting from the iliac crest and using the RIA: A systematic review.

Bone grafting is a commonly performed surgical procedure to augment bone regeneration in a variety of cases in orthopaedic and maxillofacial surgery. Autologous bone graft remains to be the 'gold standard' and the iliac crest to be the most common harvesting site. The intramedullary canal of long bones represents another potential site for large volume of autologous bone graft harvesting and is recently being used as an alternative donor site. However, harvesting of autologous bone graft is associated with morbidity and a number of complications. The aim of this systematic review was to collect and summarise the existing data on reported complications after harvesting autologous bone from the iliac crest (anterior and posterior) and the long bone intramedullary canal using the RIA device. Dimitriou R, Mataliotakis GI, Angoules AG, Kanakaris NK, Giannoudis PV. Injury. 2011 Jun 24. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 21704997 PDF