Purpose of the study: The different conflicts in ex-You-goslavia left a health care desert. A few medicosurgical units attempted to reconstruct, but their capacities were limited and focused on emergencies. Many patients had to be abandoned. One was a 13-year-old Kosovar boy with active torpid osteomyelitis of the humerus whose family brought him to the French military field hospital in Mitrovica.

Case report: The patient’s general status was mediocre with a hanging left arm which was painful upon mobilization. The skin had a normal aspect. Plain x-rays showed a purulent disintegration of the proximal third of the humerus with 11 cm shortening and loss of bone continuity. The forearm and hand were free of vascular or nervous deficits. Joint testing of the elbow and should was not contributive. The infectious agent was identified (multiple susceptible staphylococcus) and treated. A sequential strategy was undertaken for bone healing. The focus was exposed and stabilized by external fixation with insertion of a spacer and cement. At day 45, an autologous graft was inserted into the induced membrane. The fixator was removed at bone healing (20 days).

Results: The gain was 8 cm. Postoperatively, the patient responded well to double antibiotic therapy. Recovery of joint motion was spectacular for the shoulder but difficult for the elbow. The autologous graft inserted on day 45 was composed of a non-vascularized fibular component completed with grafts harvested from the two anterior iliac crests. At one year follow-up, the infectious focus remains quiescent. The patient can use his arm with no problem. The shoulder motion is subnormal and there is a certain degree of persistent stiffness of the elbow but with no functional complaint.

Discussion: This is a unusual clinical case where the induced membrane technique proposed by Masquelet for osteomyelitis of the humerus was used in an adolescent. The surgical strategy was chosen in part because of the context where microsurgery was not available.

Conclusion: Therapeutic success was achieved with simple reliable techniques. The motivation of the young patient and the efforts of four medicosurgical teams overcame the technical limitations encountered in this field situation. The potential usefulness of the induced membrane technique proposed by Masquelet was demonstrated.