Iliac Crest Bone Graft Harvesting for Pediatric Pelvic Osteotomy

Autogenous bone grafting is still the gold standard and most effective method for treatment of non-union and bone defects due to congenital disease and infection. Despite the development of bone engineering, none of the allogeneic bone products can match the osteoinductive, osteoconductive, and immunogenic properties of autogenous bone. The iliac crest is one of the most harvested sites other than the fibula, ribs, and ulna. An iliac crest bone graft (ICBG) can supply a larger amount of cortical and cancellous bone than grafts from other donor sites. Pelvic osteotomy is widely used for treating developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) and Legg-Calve-Perthes disease. Tricortical structural bone such as that in the ilium is needed to stabilize the pelvis after osteotomy, and the anterior and posterior iliac crest are the two most used graft donor sites. When surgery is planned in the prone position, such as that for posterior spinal fusion, surgeons generally prefer to adopt the posterior approach for ICBG procedures. In supine position surgeries such as pelvic osteotomy for DDH or Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, surgeons prefer the anterior approach for ICBG procedures. There are many studies on iliac bone growth and complications after ICBG procedures. Most of the studies demonstrated good outcomes and few complications. However, according to our literature review, none of the previous studies used the iliac bone for transplantation in pelvic osteotomy. In this study, we compared the results between an inner table harvest site and an inner-outer table harvest site for ICBG used to maintain stability in pelvic osteotomy.