Spontaneous regeneration of the large femoral defect in patient with diffuse osteomyelitis after intramedullary nailing
Esat Kıter1, Semih Akkaya1, Murat Oto1, İzge Günal2
1Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Medicine Faculty of Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey;
2Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Medicine Faculty of Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir, Turkey
Keywords: Bone defect; femoral fracture; osteomyelitis; spontaneous bone regeneration.
Abstract
Infection of the long bones after intramedullary nailing is a troublesome condition and management of the infection remains challenging to orthopedic surgeons. Associated infection can be more problematic and more diffuse in intramedullary bone fixation, since it may spread along the nail. Surgical treatment choices are also difficult especially in cases with large bone defects after debridement. In this article, we present a 75-year-old woman that had been treated only with in-situ external fixation, antibiotic therapy and observation. Despite diffuse femoral osteomyelitis, a 10 cm femoral defect healed with unexpected bone regeneration which couldn’t be explained reasonably.