Enhancing surgical outcomes of posterior iliac bone harvesting through a pivotal modification

Traditionally, patients are positioned in the prone position to access the donor site during the posterior iliac bone graft harvesting procedure. However, this well-established method is associated with complications such as pressure injuries, displacement of the endotracheal tube and intravenous catheter, and blindness. Moreover, the process of turning patients 180° between the supine and prone positions is both laborious and time consuming. However, no updates have been made in the approaches published in the literature to counteract these problems. Therefore, to overcome these challenges and improve patient outcomes, we proposed a pivotal modification: change prone position to the lateral decubitus position. This approach allowed us to effectively avoid the aforementioned complications. In addition, this modification offered significant advantages, including ease of implementation and timesaving benefits. The article presented results of the modification and a comprehensive evaluation of clinical and anesthetic considerations comparing the two methods.