Distal anterior radius bone graft in surgery of the hand and wrist.

The distal anterior radius was used as the source of bone graft for 131 reconstructive procedures in the wrist and hand. These included curettage and bone grafting of 9 cysts, 75 arthrodeses of various joints, and 47 scaphoid nonunions. The overall healing rate was 82%. There was one donor site complication; a distal radius fracture through the graft site occurred 46 months after surgery. We conclude that the distal anterior radius provides an excellent source of bone graft for surgery of the hand, with little morbidity.