Infected Charcot spine.
METHODS
Case report of an infected Charcot spine following spinal cord injury.


OBJECTIVE
To describe this very rare pathological condition and the results of surgical treatment.


METHODS
A department of orthopaedic surgery in Japan.


METHODS
A 44-year-old man presented with a destructive lesion in the lumbo-sacral spine and a fistula in his back. Anterior bone graft, percutaneous external spinal fixation, and suction/irrigation of the wound were performed. After 4 months, posterior spinal instrumentation surgery was carried out.


RESULTS
Primary closure of the fistula and complete bone fusion was achieved after the operation.


CONCLUSIONS
Infection of a Charcot spine, although a rare clinical entity, should be considered as a diagnostic possibility in the spinal cord-injured patients. External spinal fixation is a useful method for the unstable spinal lesion with infection.
Suda
Y
Y
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, National Hospital Organization, Murayama Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan.
Saito
M
M
Shioda
M
M
Kato
H
H
Shibasaki
K
K
D000328:Adult; D001177:Arthropathy, Neurogenic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005593:Fracture Fixation, Internal; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000382:microbiology / Q000601:surgery; D016103:Spinal Fractures