Treatment of chronic osteomyelitis; a prospective study of 55 cases treated with radical surgery and primary wound closure.

A prospective and consecutive series of 55 patients were treated for chronic osteomyelitis occurring mainly in the lower extremity and after fractures treated with internal fixation. The mean duration of osteomyelitis was 27 months. Sixty-five per cent had previously undergone operations and had been hospitalized for an average of 131 days. Staphylococcus aureus was cultured in 72 per cent of the cases as the solitary agent. In 6 cases no bacteria were found. The remaining cases had more than one species. The treatment consisted of radical operation, removal of all internal fixation, sequestrectomy, partial decortication and primary wound closure with suction drainage. External fixation was used for bone stabilization. In 13 cases plastic procedures were carried out. Antibiotics appropriate for the sensitivity patterns were given for a maximum of 3 months. Primary wound healing was obtained in 98 per cent of the cases. In practically all cases the sedimentation rate normalized within 4 weeks after the operation. The results in the available literature indicate that radical operation is effective in the treatment of osteomyelitis and this treatment seems economical as regards hospitalization time and quantity of antibiotics required.