TY - JOUR A1 - Schmitz, Paul A1 - Neumann, Christoph Cornelius A1 - Neumann, Carsten A1 - Nerlich, Michael A1 - Dendorfer, Sebastian T1 - Biomechanical analysis of iliac crest loading following cortico-cancellous bone harvesting JF - Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research N2 - Background Iliac crest bone harvesting is a frequently performed surgical procedure widely used to treat bone defects. The objective of this study is to assess the biomechanical quantities related to risk for pelvic fracture after harvesting an autologous bone graft at the anterior iliac crest. Methods Finite element models with a simulated harvest site (sized 15 × 20 mm, 15 × 35 mm, 30 × 20 mm and 30 × 35 mm) in the iliac wing are created. The relevant loading case is when the ipsilateral leg is lifted off the ground. Musculoskeletal analysis is utilized to compute the muscle and joint forces involved in this motion. These forces are used as boundary conditions for the finite element analyses. Bone tissue stress is analyzed. Results Critical stress peaks are located between the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) and the anterior edge of the harvest site. Irrespective of the graft size, the iliac wing does not show any significant stress peaks with the harvest site being 20 to 25 mm posterior to the ASIS. The harvest area itself inhibits the distribution of the forces applied on the ASIS to extend to the posterior iliac wing. This leads to a lack of stress posterior to the harvest site. A balanced stress distribution with no stress peaks appears when the bone graft is taken below the iliac crest. Conclusion A harvest site located at least 20 to 25 mm posterior to the ASIS should be preferred to minimize the risk of iliac fatigue fracture. KW - Bone harvesting KW - Autologous bone graft KW - Iliac crest KW - Fatigue fracture KW - Pelvis KW - ASIS KW - FEA KW - Biomechanical investigation KW - Beckenkammknochen KW - Knochenentnahme KW - Spongiosa KW - Biomechanische Analyse Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s13018-018-0822-1 VL - 13 IS - 108 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Springer Nature ER -