Iliac crest donor site morbidity in foot and ankle surgery

The authors retrospectively reviewed anterior iliac crest donor site morbidity in 40 consecutive patients (42 donor sites) who underwent graft harvesting for reconstructive foot or ankle surgery. The mean time to follow-up was 22 months (range, 1 to 48 months). The overall complication rate was 2.4%, with one early minor complication and no major complications. The authors conclude that anterior iliac crest-harvesting techniques that rely on minimal soft tissue dissection and the removal of small-to-moderate volumes of bone have reduced frequencies of minor and major donor site complications.