Information for Medical Professionals

Smoking impacts on outcome in the removal of infected implants

A number of factors can impact negatively on the outcome of debridement and removal of infected exposed implants - including a patient's history of smoking.

Published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, the new research showed that the "growth of multiple organisms, a history of smoking and the presence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus on wound cultures indicated a poor outcome".

"The use of antibiotic beads, vacuum-assisted closure and dressing, the surgical site, the type of flap performed and the time from primary surgery to flap cover were not predictive of outcome," they added.

Scientists behind the new paper used muscle flaps to salvage the offending implants as the technique offers soft-tissue cover and fresh vascularity.

At the end of last year, scientists from Cork, in the Republic of Ireland, showed that people who undergo corrective surgery following failed fixation in hip fracture cases have a high complication incidence rate.

They also found that failure to find optimal screw placement was responsible for 80 per cent of failures.

---

<< Back

News provided by Adfero in collaboration with Biomet. Please note that all copy is (c) Adfero Ltd and does not reflect the views or opinions of Biomet unless explicitly stated.