The Belfast technique for the treatment of chronic osteomyelitis in a tropical teaching hospital
International Orthopaedics, Volume 27, No. 2, Year 2003
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From September 1995 to August 2001, we treated 25 patients with chronic osteomyelitis of long bones by a two-stage technique. This consisted of the radical removal of all infected bone and soft tissue and immediate provision of soft-tissue cover. This was supplemented when necessary with delayed autogenous bone grafting. The average follow-up was 46 months (range: 19-80 months). One patient with haemoglobin sickle cell disease (HbSS) died after the second stage of surgery. There were four recurrences, one of which followed a myocutaneous flap that became necrotic. Ankylosis occurred in five patients.