USE OF BONE SUBSTITUTES WITH GENTAMYCIN IN THE TREATMENT OF BONE INFECTIONS: PRELIMINARY EXPERIENCE OF 8 CASES

Evaluation of the effectiveness of biodegradable bone substitute with high doses of antibiotics in cavitary osteomyelitis and infected nonunions.The authors evaluated 8 cases, 5 of them related to osteomyelitis with bone sequestration and other 3 regarding infected nonunions. All of them had in common the persistence of infection after antibiotic therapy.All infections were confirmed by microbiological studies. In all cases the surgeons conducted a thorough surgical debridement and filling of bone defects with Herafill®. Later a tight clinical, analytical and imagiological control was performed.Five of the cases were a success with simultaneous healing of the bone loss and treatment of the infection. These corresponded to the cases of cavitary osteomyelitis. In the remaining 3 cases, despite infection eradication, union was not achieved and additional surgical procedures were required for definitive treatment of nonunion.In the treatment of bone infection, use of high doses of antibiotics at the site is a...