Bone Graft at Exeter Hospital

During a bone graft your surgeon will use small pieces of healthy bone from one area of your body and graft (or transplant) it into a damaged area. In some cases frozen, donated bone or synthetic bone may be used.

Why are bone grafts done?

Surgeons use bone grafts for many reasons including:

• Repair of broken bones
• Repair of an injury that has not healed
• Fuse a joint to limit movement

Your recovery and length of stay in hospital will depend on the extent of your surgery.

A bone graft can take 3 months or more to completely heal. During this time you may be asked to avoid strenuous activity. Be sure and ask our healthcare team about any restrictions.

With any surgical procedure there could be complications. General complications of surgical procedures could include:

• Pain
• Bleeding
• Infection
• Blood clots (deep vein thrombosis)

Specific complications of bone graft:

• Rejection of the grafting material.