Lesser toe salvage with external fixation and autogenous bone grafting: a case series

Lesser toe salvage secondary to soft tissue ulceration and underlying osteomyelitis is a challenge, and amputation is frequently the primary procedure recommended. The author presents an observational case series involving retrospective review of prospectively collected data of 4 lesser toe salvage procedures with external fixation and delayed autogenous bone grafting for the treatment of osteomyelitis in 4 consecutive patients. Each patient underwent initial resection of involved soft tissue ulceration and underlying osseous components of the lesser toe with application of external fixation and polymethylmethacrylate antibiotic-loaded bone cement spacer. Once eradication of osteomyelitis was confirmed clinically, the patient underwent delayed insertion of autogenous bone graft harvested from the ipsilateral calcaneus or osteocutaneous flap transfer from the fibular border of the ipsilateral great toe. There were 2 men and 2 women with a mean age of 56.5 years. Three patients had diabetes mellitus, and 1 had previous history of open fracture. There were 2 right feet and 2 left feet involved and 2 second, 1 third, and 1 fourth toe salvage procedures performed with a mean follow-up of 12 months. The external fixation device was maintained until complete osseous integration was verified, which occurred at a mean of 7.5 weeks. All procedures were deemed successful with complete osseous incorporation of the proximal and distal graft-host bone interfaces and no recurrent soft tissue ulcerations, osteomyelitis, toe deformity, or fracture about the bone graft sites.