Vascularized iliac bone graft in cases of ankle tuberculosis

Ankle tuberculosis is a very rare occurrence. Because the ankle is a weightbearing joint, the affected ankle tends to become damaged. Consequently, the surgical procedure of arthrodesis is necessary, which usually proves effective. We report two cases of ankle tuberculosis, in patients 53 and 71 years of age. The former case had been diagnosed initially as osteoarthritis and then later as pyogenic osteomyelitis; the latter case had been diagnosed as pigmented villonodular synovitis, a benign but aggressive lesion that involves the joints. In addition to antitubercular medicine, these cases were treated with debridement for necrotic tissue and arthrodesis. In the former case, an iliac osteocutaneous flap was performed, and arthrodesis between the tibia, talus, and calcaneus was obtained. In the other case, a vascularized iliac bone graft was performed that resulted in arthrodesis between the tarsal bones, talus, and calcaneus but with pseudoarthrosis between the tibia and the talus. Settlement of the joint tuberculosis and gait ability without resorption or corruption of the grafted bone was obtained in both cases. Vascularized bone graft offers the benefits of achieving bone defect reconstruction with promotion of bone union, and the infection can be expected to resolve through medication delivered via the circulation.