Purpose: To evaluate the hemostatic efficacy of autologous platelet-poor plasma (PPP) gel following posterior iliac crest bone graft harvesting for oral and maxillofacial reconstruction.
Patients and methods: This was a prospective study of 24 consecutive patients involving 26 posterior iliac crest bone harvests that had bone wax and either 1-gram of bovine microfibrillar collagen or 20 mL of autologous PPP, activated as a gel, used as adjunct hemostatic agents. Compression bulb suction drain was placed into the graft site and drain output recorded every 8 hours for 64 hours. Cost analysis was also undertaken between the 2 methods. Statistical significance between means of each group was determined by Student's t test and found significant for P < .05.
Results: There were no statistically significant differences in average drain output between the PPP and MFC groups for each 8-hour interval. There was no statically significant difference in average total drain output between the PPP and MFC groups over the entire 64 hour period. Additionally, unlike the addition of MFC, the addition of PPP added no additional costs to the procedure.
Conclusion: PPP gel, when compared with bovine microfibrillar collagen, is an effective and inexpensive adjunct in hemostasis following posterior iliac crest bone harvest.