Cleft Patient-Reported Postoperative Donor Site Pain Following Alveolar Autologous Iliac Crest Bone Grafting: Comparing Two Minimally Invasive Harvesting Techniques.

BACKGROUND: Autologous bone grafting is still considered the standard method for alveolar cleft repair. However, donor site morbidities remain a relevant problem in cleft care. Thus, the authors assessed postoperative donor site pain in cleft patients who underwent alveolar cleft repair by iliac crest bone graft transferring through a prospective randomized study comparing 2 minimally invasive harvesting techniques. METHODS: Fifty-six consecutive patients with cleft lip and palate who underwent iliac crest bone grafting for alveolar cleft repair were randomly divided into 2 groups: bone graft harvested by minimally invasive techniques without (group 1) and with (group 2) periosteum elevation. Postoperative donor site pain was evaluated using a unidimensional numerical pain intensity rating scale (0, "no pain;" 10, "worst pain imaginable") at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 hours after the procedures and on the 3rd, 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th days after surgeries. Intergroup comparisons were performed. RESULTS: The mean measurements of donor site pain revealed no significant differences (all P > 0.05) in any of the evaluated postoperative period comparisons between groups 1 and 2. There was a greater number (P < 0.05) of group 1 patients who reported "no pain" in the donor site compared with group 2, suggesting that periosteum elevation may play a role in pain intensity measurement. CONCLUSIONS: This prospective randomized study showed no difference in pain intensity among cleft patients who had postoperative pain. However, a greater number of patients in group 1 reported "no pain" in comparison to patients in group 2.