ABSTRACT
Background: Open fractures are a challenging condition to treat because they are frequently compounded by infection and nonunion. Traditional bone defect care strategies are mostly focused on fracture union rather than infection prevention. The goal of this study is t o use the Masquelet approach to examine the outcome of a post - traumatic defect with infection in long bones. This method is a two - step process. Stage I surgery includes debridement and the placement of an antibacterial spacer in the bone defect. Stage II s urgery involved removing the spacer while preserving the induced membrane that had grown on the spacer's surface and filling the bone - gap with morselized iliac crest bone - graft within the membrane sleeve. Methods: There were 22 patients in this study (18 m ales and 4 females), all of them had infected long bone fractures with a bone defect. The average length of the bone defect was 3.5 centimetres. The duration of follow - up varied from 6 to 15 months. Results: After an average of 11.5 weeks following the fir st step of surgery, radiological union was achieved. After stage 1, no patient had any remaining infection. After radiological union, all of the patients were able to mobilise with full weight bearing and a satisfactory range of motion in the adjoining joi nts. Conclusion: With favourable outcomes, this treatment can be used on infected fractures with bone loss on a regular basis. Antibiotic cement spacers, used in conjunction with complete debridement, minimise the risk of infection. The graft is revascular ized through induced biomembrane. In most circumstances, union may be predicted; nonetheless, the length of time it takes to reach an agreement is a constraint. The technique is low - cost and does not necessitate any additional training or equipment. Despit e the fact that it is a two - stage procedure, it does not necessitate several surgeries as in traditional approaches.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Traumatic segmental bone defects of leg are difficult problem to manage with significant long-term morbidity.Historically, due to difficulty in managing segmental bone defects, amputation was the preferred treatment. Later over the lasthalf-century, limb salvage was done using various techniques such as vascularized fibular grafts, acute limb shortening, externalfixator application, and filling the defect with autograft or allograft. More recently, Masquelet described the use of cement spacerapplication within this defect and staged bone grafting within the induced biomembrane formed around the spacer as a potentialtreatment strategy to manage these bone defects.Method: This study describes the clinical, radiological, and functional outcome in 20 patients with traumatic bone loss of up to5 cm managed using Masquelet technique.Results: The outcome was analyzed using Association for the study and application of methods of ilizarov (ASAMI) scorewhich showed excellent results in 10 patients, good in 5 patients, fair in 2 patients, and poor in 3 patients.Conclusion: We conclude that the induced membrane technique can be a valuable addition to the armamentarium of limbreconstruction procedures in patients with small bone defects with or without soft tissue injury.