Non unions of the foot and ankle

So you stumbled across this page because you were probably diagnosed with a Non union of the foot and ankle. What are the causes of a non union. Three things, 1-  Mechanical 2-biological 3-infection . Mechanical means

Calcaneal fracture treated by Dr Wrotslavsky

that the bones were not fixed in a proper position and with proper hardware. Biological means that your biology is not optimal to heal a foot fracture. Such as Vitamin D deficiency , Diabetes with charcot foot, smokers are notoriously poor bone healers.

the best way to figure out what bacteria is affecting the poor bone healing is a tissue culture. That is the  gold  standard, if its  dna positive different than regular  cultures,  it’s usually more than one type of bacteria . Biofilm is usually present and  the bacteria hides under it then you do not get the usual blood makers telling you you have a bone infection.

foot wound

“IV antibiotics harm the patient and are poison use them with respect”  a quote from Dr Lowenthal that i heard at the Baltimore deformity course in 2016. 2014 daily antibiotic consumption 51 tons a day (human and animal) , that is way too much.

Non unions of the foot and ankle

Host characterization was a system described by the late Dr  George Cierny. He described different risks such as ones overall health, ones  social and psychological situation and lastly if your a  smoker . Smoking is a definite cause in delaying bone healing.

What type of bone graft your doctor’s using , is an important question to ask.

heel fracture

Need to remove hardware is important  in getting rid of infection. Also  get rid of infection antibiotic cement,  stabilize tissue and bone defects

Amputation is not a failure. There are plenty of times that things do not work out to our expectations , most times it is not the patients and not the doctors fault. It is normal to look to put the blame on someone, however it is usually a mix of a multitude of events. If need be amputate and get a prosthesis and move on. It may sound rough but dragging on the inevitable in those cases can only harm you. all the treatments and antibiotics and anesthesia can take a devastating toll on ones body.

Non unions of the foot and ankle

Ankle Fracture