Infected Charcot spine.

STUDY

DESIGN

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.

SETTING

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.

CONCLUSION

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.