[Medullary reaming in chronic osteomyelitis of the stable femur and tibia shaft].

Ten patients with chronic osteomyelitis of the femur or tibia shaft without bone instability were operated by intramedullary reaming. All patients but one had previous surgery, up to 12 operations with the average duration of the disease 10.5 years. After intramedullary reaming all patients received systemic antibiotics for 8 days and in 6 cases the intramedullary cannal was filled with gentamicin-PMMA chains which were removed in local anaesthesia 10 days after surgery. Eight patients who had severe pain at rest were promptly relieved by the operation. In 3 cases of chronic fistulation only one exacerbation was seen. This was because of insufficient reaming, the patient was subsequently reoperated with reaming from a distal approach. During the observation periode from the month 12 to 32 in no case was there a recurrence of pain or infection.