Short- and long-term effects of regional application of morphine and bupivacaine on the iliac crest donor site.

We investigated the analgesic effect of regional application of bupivacaine and a morphine-bupivacaine combination on iliac crest donor-site pain in a randomized, double-blind controlled study of 45 patients. Patients were divided into three groups: group I (control group), group II (bupivacaine) and group III (morphine-bupivacaine combination). Pain in the acute stage was evaluated by visual analogue scale scoring and analgesic consumption. Chronic pain and dysesthesia were evaluated at 12 weeks after operation at a follow-up visit. It was found that local bupivacaine administration with or without morphine provided satisfactory analgesia in the acute stage following iliac crest bone harvesting. The amount of analgesic consumption was found to be significantly less with the addition of morphine to bupivacaine, when compared to bupivacaine alone. Effective pain control in the acute stage had a favorable effect on long-term pain and dysesthesia, which are the main complaints after iliac crest bone harvesting. This effect was augmented significantly by addition of morphine to the local anesthetic solution.