Incisional hernia after iliac bone harvesting

Published: 04/20/2012

Authors: Angelastri G and Ghisletta N

An 84-year-old woman presented with bowel obstruction; she had undergone a left superior iliac crest bone harvest to treat a calcaneal fracture over 20 years earlier. CT revealed herniation of the descending colon through a left iliac crest gap 3 × 3·5cm wide (Fig. 1a, arrow). This was repaired with polypropylene mesh (Fig. 1b). Although incisional hernia is an exceedingly rare complication of iliac bone harvesting, the iliac defect should be closed after full thickness bone grafting.