Antibiotic-Impregnated Calcium Sulfate Beads for Local Therapy of Severe Skull Base Osteomyelitis

We report on a patient with severe progressive osteomyelitis of the lateral skull base, despite targeted long-term antibiotic therapy. Successful treatment and recovery of the facial nerve palsy were achieved through additional surgical debridement and insertion of synthetic calcium sulfate beads as a local antibiotic carrier to the skull base. We describe the characteristics of this novel biodegradable long-term release matrix and the surgical technique in detail. The patient is free from recurrence 2 years postoperatively.