Restoring the Anatomy of Long Bones with Large Septic Non-Union Defects with the Masquelet Technique

Objectives: Septic non-union in long-bone fractures represents a challenging clinical entity. Management of lower extremity segmental bone defects, aiming to restore functional anatomy, remains extremely difficult and controversial. Masquelet technique is a reconstruction method for large diaphyseal bone defects, based on the notion of the induced membrane. The principle of the induced membrane is to create a foreign body reaction by placing cement spacer in the bone defect. The purpose of this study was to assess the success rate of induced membrane technique (IMT) in treating lower extremity large bone defects due to septic non-union. Methods:This is a retrospective observational study performed in a single referral center in France, Europe, which is specialized in complex bone and joint infections. All patients operated for septic non-union were identified from a prospectively maintained database. Patients treated with the IMT for septic femoral or tibial non-union between 2013 and 2017 were enrolled in this study. Exclusion criteria were infection of a continuous bone, aseptic non-union, or patients with less than one year of follow-up after antibiotic treatment ending. Results:Twenty-three cases (19 patients) with an average age of 41.3 years were included in the present study. There were 19 tibial and four femoral fractures. The mean bone defect was 65.3 mm. The mean time interval from initial trauma to the first surgical phase was 17 months, while that between the two surgical phases was 77.7 days. After the first surgical phase, samples were positive in 13 cases (68.5%), isolating Staphylococcus (26%) and more than one pathogen in 22% of cases. Bone union was successful in 16 of 23 cases (69.6%, 14 patients). There were seven failures: five amputations due to mechanical and/or infection-related failure and two failed unions. Conclusion:This study found that 69% of cases with septic non-union of tibial or femoral fracture treated with the two-step surgical protocol achieved bone union and infection eradication within about 13.2 months after the second stage of the procedure. The study revealed promising results in patients suffering large-size bone defect; hence, the IMT may prove beneficial in the management of such cases.