The Effect of Age on Outcome in Excision of Chronic Osteomyelitis with Free Muscle Flap Reconstruction

Introduction: Curative surgical treatment of chronic osteomyelitis often requires free tissue transfer if there is significant soft tissue compromise. We investigated whether age influenced outcomes of curative osteomyelitis excision in those patients requiring free muscle flap soft tissue reconstruction.Methods: We assessed ninety-five consecutive patients treated with excision of chronic osteomyelitis, skeletal stabilisation/reconstruction and free muscle transfer between 2006 and 2012. We compared outcomes of those aged ≥60 years (n=23) with those