Morbidity of chin bone harvesting

The chin is a very common donor site for autogenous bone grafts. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate long-term morbidity of the donor site following chin bone graft harvesting. One to three years after grafting of local bone defects of the anterior maxilla with chin bone, 21 patients were recalled for objective assessment of any residual morbidity at the harvesting area. Morbidity as well as satisfaction of the patients were evaluated by a survey of the medical record, a mail-in questionnaire, and a standardized physical examination. The outcome of this study showed that there was good acceptance of the chin bone harvesting procedure. The objective morbidity was low, but subjectively almost half of the patients reported a changed (decreased) sensibility in the harvesting area. This subjective change in sensibility did not result in noteworthy complaints or discomfort by the patients, however. Although bone harvesting from the chin is generally considered as a good option for reconstruction of local bony defects, the patients should be informed about the potential hazard of a changed sensibility in the chin region.