Course of treatment and rate of successful salvage following the diagnosis of deep infection in patients treated for pilon fractures (AO/OTA: 43).

Background/aims: The purpose of this study is to report the rate of successful salvage and describe typical treatment course for patients with infected pilon fractures.

Methods: This investigation was performed after gathering a Six-year retrospective database from a single academic trauma center including patients with pilon fractures diagnosed with post-operative deep infection.

Results: These include a rate of successful salvage in patients diagnosed with deep infection of 88.5% (46/52). Patients who were successfully salvaged required an average of 3.5 (±2.3) procedures following diagnosis of infection, 2.5 (±1.5) debridements and 1.1 (±1.2) reconstructive procedures.

Conclusions: Considerable morbidity follows the diagnosis of deep infection, with 14% of patients ultimately treated with amputation. Successful salvage can be reliably anticipated in over 80% of patients, but typically requires more than 3 additional procedures.