Morbidity of mandibular bone harvesting: a comparative study.

Purpose: To assess the objective and subjective morbidity of mandibular bone harvesting.

Materials And Methods: Forty-five patients who had been subjected to mandibular bone harvesting from the chin region (group 1, n = 15), the retromolar region (group 2, n = 15), or the retromolar region after removal of the third molar (group 3, n = 15) participated in this study. Complications, postoperative morbidity, and patient acceptance of the procedure were evaluated by assessing the medical records and performing standardized routine clinical and radiographic examinations up to 12 months after the augmentation procedure. In addition, the patients were asked to complete a questionnaire on the subjective complaints related to the procedure.

Results: Analysis of the questionnaire revealed that there was no significant difference between patients of groups 1 and 2 regarding acceptance of the procedure (scores of 8.6 +/- 1.1 and 8.5 +/- 0.9 on a 10-point scale, respectively). Acceptance of the procedure was scored significantly higher by the patients of group 3 (9.3 +/- 0.7; Student t test, P < .05). Six patients of group 1 and 2 patients of groups 2 and 3 reported subjective sensory disturbances related to the donor site. With the exception of 2 patients in group 1, these subjective complaints disappeared within 2 months after surgery. In the 2 patients (group 1) who reported a persistent discrete sensibility disorder in the symphyseal region after 12 months, this disturbance could not be confirmed objectively.

Conclusion: Mandibular bone harvesting for reconstructing local alveolar defects is a well-accepted procedure with low objective and subjective morbidity. Amongst the procedures evaluated, harvesting bone from the retromolar region combined with removal of the third molar was best accepted by the patients.