Severe lower extremity infections treated with hip disarticulation - Case series

Abstract

Hip disarticulation is a major ablative procedure with serious risks as well as consequences for the patient, performed rarely for a lower extremity infection. According to literature, the mortality rate in these procedures reaches up to 60%. Unfavourable prognostic factors are emergency surgeries without adequate preparation of the patient and surgeries indicated for an ischemic terrain infection. The authors present four cases of hip disarticulation for severe lower extremity infection. In one patient, the procedure was performed urgently for necrotising fasciitis in the lower extremity extending up to the groin area, in the other three patients for non-healing femoral stump infection following the lower extremity amputation for vascular causes, of which two cases got complicated by the presence of TKA. Two of the patients treated surgically for stump infection died two months after the surgery due to respiratory complications. The two surviving patients underwent the last check one year following the surgery, they are both capable of independent locomotion with two underarm crutches and use the prosthesis only rarely. In the discussion, the factors influencing the mortality rate of the procedure, the principles of surgical and antimicrobial therapy, and the use of the negative-pressure wound therapy are analysed. The underlying principles of the care for patients with severe infections of the musculoskeletal system are infection focus debridement with the removal of foreign material, antibiotic (anti-infective) therapy targeted based on the cultivation results, wound management aimed to prevent contamination with nosocomial strains, and multidisciplinary cooperation - orthopaedist/surgeon, infectious disease physician, intensive care specialist, nutrition and rehabilitation specialist, nursing and prosthetic care providers.