Note-
Kim, I have personally performed surgeries using both types of surgical grafting techniques I discussed above. For the autograft, we harvested a portion of iliac crest for use as a graft. We used it to reconstruct a semi trucker's upper jaw (maxilla). He had an unfortunate chance encounter with a heavy duty metal connector attached to a tie down strap under extreme tension as he was tightening down a load when it gave way. I also use allograft materials monthly for small defects.
Besides necessitating a second surgical site, an important issue to be aware of is the discomfort after the surgery on the donor site. A lot of patients find their hip to be more sensitive and painful than the actual graft site. Some of this can be mitigated by discussing with your surgeon where (anterior vs posterior) on the iliac crest the graft will be taken. Its worth discussing if you decide on an autograft.
The autograft is definitely the best material we have since it has all three properties (osteogenic (can make bone itself with its cells), osteoconductive(works as a matrix for new bone to "grow into" it), and osteoinductive( has cells that initiate the bone around the graft to begin "growing new bone" into the graft tissue).
Just thought I would add that little tidbit of information so you didn't think you were getting a purely internet based opinion. In my profession, we do a little bone grafting too... just not on the spine.
