[Treatment of chronic osteomyelitis with a collagen-antibiotic compound--preliminary report].

A compound of collagen and gentamicin was used in a controlled examination on 67 patients for the treatment of posttraumatic as well as postoperative osteomyelitis and, when applying cement-free endoprostheses, for hemostasis and local prevention of infection in the bed for implantation. Even in case of relatively high doses, the gentamicin concentration measured was only at the threshold value of detectability, due to the local application of the absorbable antibiotic compound. In most of all cases (n = 63), the healing of infection is demonstrated by clinical and radiobiological investigation.