[Osteomyelitis after malleolar fractures].

Over a ten-year period, 485 patients suffering from malleous fracture were operated at the Department for Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology in Novi Sad. Postoperative infection appeared in ten cases (2.06%). Eight of these patients primarily had open fractures, and two of them had closed ones. Osteosynthesis of the lateral malleous had most frequently been treated by the use of panel and screws. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated as symptom of the infection in eight cases. In treatment of malleous osteomyelitis, the debridement of focus of infection together with fixation material extraction was the most frequently performed operative method. During a two-year period no exacerbation, seven patients was observed while at control examination three patients had secretion from fistula. Mobility of ankle joint was limited in most cases, while walking imposed no pain.