Intraosseous bioabsorbable poly-L-lactic acid screw presenting as a late foreign-body reaction: a case report

A 17-year-old woman complained of a localized painful swelling in her foot 30 months after internal fixation of a closed tarsometatarsal joint fracture with interfragmentary poly-L-lactic acid screws. Aspiration revealed a sterile abscess. Radiographs displayed an osteolytic lesion corresponding to a screw track in the first tarsometarsal joint. Formation of a draining sinus tract required surgical excision of a small granulomatous lesion. Histologic analysis found deposits of birefringent polymeric particles surrounded by a nonspecific foreign-body type reaction. This represents the first reported case of a draining sinus tract secondary to the use of polylactic acid screw fixation.