Harvesting of Cancellous Bone From the Proximal Tibia Under Local Anesthesia: Donor Site Morbidity and Patient Experience

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Harvesting of Cancellous Bone From the Proximal Tibia Under Local Anesthesia: Donor Site Morbidity and Patient Experience
November 2007
Robert Kirmeier, DMD⁎, Michael Payer, MD, DMD‹, Martin Lorenzoni, MD, DMD, PhD·, Walther A. Wegscheider, MD, DMD, PhD?, Franz Josef Seibert, MD, PhD∥, Norbert Jakse, MD, DMD, PhD?
Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
Elsevier

Purpose
The objective of this retrospective study was to evaluate postoperative morbidity, risk of complications, and patient discomfort after ambulatory tibial bone harvesting procedures under local anesthesia.

Patients and Methods
Between 2000 and 2005, bone was harvested from the head of the tibia for internal or external maxillary augmentation in 79 patients. A medial osteoplastic approach to the donor region was used. All patientsÌ records were reviewed. Forty-five of the 79 patients later came in for follow-up examination. A traumatologist examined the donor region both clinically and radiologically. Subjective disorders and experiences of the patients were documented using a standardized questionnaire.

Results
The patient records revealed that 80% did not report significant complaints or gait disturbances after bone harvesting, and only 5% reported postoperative complaints or gait disturbances lasting longer than 2 weeks. In 1 case, a nondisplaced fracture healed without further complications. Clinical and radiologic examinations of 45 patients revealed full regeneration of the donor region in all cases. Some 91% of the patients described the outpatient bone harvesting procedure under local anesthesia as Ïnot distressingÓ and would undergo such an intervention again if required.

Conclusions
This study demonstrates that both complaints and risk of complications after outpatient bone harvesting from the proximal tibia under local anesthesia can be considered very low, especially as far as outpatient maxillary augmentation (eg, sinus floor elevation) is concerned.

⁎ Assistant, Department of Oral Surgery and Radiology, School of Dental Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.

‹ Assistant, Department of Oral Surgery and Radiology, School of Dental Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.

· Associate Professor, Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.

? Associate Professor, Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.

∥ Associate Professor, Department of Traumatology, School of Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.

? Associate Professor and Chairman, Department of Oral Surgery and Radiology, School of Dental Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Jakse: Department of Oral Surgery and Radiology, School of Dental Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 12, A-8036 Graz, Austria

PII: S0278-2391(06)02203-8

doi:10.1016/j.joms.2006.11.038

© 2007 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2007 Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved

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