An operation in which several small pieces of bone are taken from one part of the body and used to repair or replace abnormal or missing bone elsewhere. The bone graft eventually dies, but it acts as a scaffold upon which strong new bone grows. Bone is most commonly taken from the iliac crests (upper part of the hipbones), which contain a large amount of the inner, spongy bone that is especially useful for getting grafts to “take”. Other sources are the ribs (for curved bone), and the ulna (in the forearm).
Bone graft |
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