Postoperative pain following posterior iliac crest bone graft harvesting in spine surgery: a prospective, randomized trial

The current literature does not adequately illuminate the incidence of postoperative pain at the site of harvest and the relative magnitude of this pain in comparison with the patient's residual low back pain. This is the first study to blind the patient to the laterality of bone graft harvesting. Our randomized investigation showed that although pain on the surgical side was slightly higher, it was neither clinically nor statistically different from the nonsurgical side. Our conclusion supports surgeons' use of autologous bone graft, which offers a cost-effective, efficacious spinal fusion supplement.