Iliac crest donor site morbidity following open and closed methods of bone harvest for alveolar cleft osteoplasty.

Donor site morbidity after bone harvesting still remains a crucial problem in alveolar cleft osteoplasty. This study focuses on ilium donor site morbidity comparing two different techniques. A series of 52 consecutive patients was divided in half. All had anterior iliac crest bone grafts. In the study group the harvesting was performed with a closed osteotomy using a cylindrical Shepard osteotome. The control group underwent the traditional open osteotomy. In the open osteotomy group the short-term morbidity at the donor site was slightly greater than in the closed harvesting group. The low short-term morbidity in the closed harvesting group was reflected in the analgesic consumption which was three times higher in the open osteotomy group (p < 0.008). The most striking difference occurred in the appearance of the mature scar: a length of 24.2 mm (mean) in the closed harvesting group against 60.3 mm in the open osteotomy group (p < 0.0001), and a width of 4.9 mm (mean) versus 7.7 mm, respectively (p < 0.003). The long-term morbidity was negligible in both groups. Based on these findings we suggest that bone harvesting from the anterior iliac crest remains the preferred method, provided that closed harvesting is undertaken.