Vascularized fibular graft for chronic osteomyelitis of humerus in a 10 years child

Abstract

Introduction: Reconstruction of large skeletal defects secondary to osteomyelitis remains a challenging problem. Free vascularized bone can be used to reconstruct large skeletal defects greater than 6 cm or bone defects of smaller size that failed to heal with nonvascularized bone grafting. There are only few case reports which describe it in such a young age group. Case report: We report a case of a 9 years male child with a right proximal humerus osteomyelitic defect treated with a vascularized fibular graft and plating with a 6 months follow up having a satisfactory functional outcome. Conclusion: Free vascularized fibula transfer is an efficient technique for exceptional cases of multi-operated and aseptic resistant non-union with bone defect of the humerus. The indications for vascularized bone grafting are skeletal defects greater than 6 cm or smaller defects that have failed to heal with nonvascular bone graft with a reported success rate of 77%-90%.