Treatment of massive thoracolumbar wounds and vertebral osteomyelitis following scoliosis surgery

Closure of thoracolumbar wounds and vertebral osteomyelitis after scoliosis surgery often proves difficult due to tautness and lack of usable tissue, and the resulting dead space containing metallic fixation devices is predisposed to infections and complications. The authors present their experience with 33 patients in whom massive thoracolumbar wounds and vertebral osteomyelitis developed following scoliosis surgery. Postoperative infection, due to the lack of vascularized tissue and presence of metallic hardware near the wound, is common and extremely counterproductive; within these cavernous wounds lie infected vertebrae, metallic hardware, and bone graft. The use of a modified and extended latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap to close and supply blood to wounds in the lower thoracic and thoracolumbar areas is described. This surgical approach, predicated on effective debridement along with reconstruction by transposition of vascularized tissue, allows the wound to close and drastically decreases the risk of postoperative infection. Furthermore, for wounds already infected, the procedure allows for closure and increased blood supply to the area, thus giving the wound a much greater ability to heal. For wounds involving the lumbosacral area, the authors combine this with a transposed gluteus maximus muscle flap to obtain coverage over the caudal extent of the wound. In this study, all flaps accomplished their intended purpose: to secure the healing of once-infected wounds and to allow preservation of orthopedic instrumentation and bone graft. Follow-up revealed no flap losses, pseudarthroses, or loss of orthopedic instrumentation in the study group.