The aim of this paper is to describe the technique and evaluate the effectiveness of the RIA system in the first cases of bone loss treated by the authors with this technique. Between January 2010 and January 2011, ten patients were treated with an average age of fourty six years, with infected bone loss as a result of open fractures in various bone segments, with multiple failed treatment attempts, including three humeri, four femurs and three tibiae. The average size of the initial bone loss was 4 cm, varying from 1 to 8 cm. In 4 patients it was used simultaneously a Ilizarov apparatus with acute compression of the focus, in two patients a Ender pin and monolateral external fixator, three other cases with a SAFE nail with core with antibiotics and in one case an osteosynthesis with a plate and screws. The RIA was introduced with a percutaneous technique with a one pass drilling. The graft thus collected was mixed with appropriate antibiotics and aplied at the defect. The volume of the harvested graft, complications of the donor and recipient and the final results was recorded. The review showed that the average volume of graft was 60 cc, from 20 to 90 cc. In two female patients older than 70 years with osteoporosis, insufficient bone of poor quality was obtained. Problems included a case of iatrogenic fracture of the donor site, due to poor surgical technique and a case of relapse of the nonunion. Regarding the effectiveness of grafts extracted with the RIA system, 90% of the cases achieved consolidation in average of 5 months after grafting, range 3–9 months. This short experience with the RIA system showed that it is an attractive method allowing a rapid removal of a large volume of bone graft with a minimally invasive approach and a short learning curve. It is not indicated in elderly patients with osteoporosis and those with a narrow medullar canal less than 11 mm. Special attention must be done to the need to choose a drill no larger than 1 mm of the diameter of the isthmus, to do a single entry point and with only one drill passage to prevent the weakening of the donor site

Background. Chronic osteomyelitis with intramedullary sequestrum resulting in persistent infection is a challenging orthopaedic problem that often involves multiple surgical operations and unfortunately has a significant recurrence rate. Reasons for this may include difficulty in eradicating all intramedullary microsequestra making subsequent prolonged antibiotic therapy less effective. Use of the Reamer-Irrigator-Aspirator (RIA) has many advantages for management of intramedullary infections in chronic osteomyelitis. The RIA technique allows irrigation of sterile large quantities of saline with simultaneous bony debridement with very sharp reamers that are specially designed to allow simultaneous fluid aspiration. Purpose. We will illustrate the pearls and pitfalls associated with the RIA technique, based on our experience so far. Method. We retrospectively reviewed a number of 6 (six) patients with chronic osteomyelitis of tibia (n=2) and femur (n=4). In an average follow up of 9.6 months post treatment (range 3–18 months) using a protocol including treatment with RIA we noticed immediate control of infection. Complications. Include pin tract infection, pin site pain and fungal infection (due to prolonged use of antibiotics). Conclusion. Based on our patient series so far, the encouraging results we have seen with regard to eradication of infection lead us to believe that RIA has a valuable role to play in the treatment of chronic osteomyelitis

Introduction. Reaming of the canal is an important step in the debridement phase of treating intramedullary infections. Numerous techniques of radical canal debridement have been successfully reported. The use of the Reamer-Irrigation-Aspiration system (RIA-Synthes) is currently expanding to include this clinical scenario. Materials and methods. Prospective collection of data related to infected cases treated with the use of the RIA in a tertiary referral centre referring to a 3 year period. Peri-operative details, microbiology results, and follow-up outcome over a minimum period of 12 months post-surgery are reported. Results. Twenty patients (13 men), with average age 44.8 years (18–75), suffering from 7 tibial and 13 femoral infections represent the study cohort. There were 19 surgical-site-infections, and 1 spontaneous haematogenous infection in non-previously operated extremity. The canal was stabilised using an antibiotic-loaded-cement-nail in 18 cases. The antibiotic nail was subsequently removed after 6–8 weeks. The most commonly isolated organism was staphylococcus aureus. There were followed-up regularly (2,6, 12 weeks, and then at 6 months and 12, 24, 36 months). At 6 months follow up (range 12–43 months) no recurrence was observed. Two patients died during the course of the study. One patient at the day after surgery due to septic shock, and another one at 2 years due to irrelevant causation. Another patient had a below knee amputation after debriding of the canal for pan-medullary osteomyelitis. However, there was no recurrence in the stump at the latest follow up after 1 year. Conclusion. The usage of this new device shows promising results in the treatment of intramedullary osteomyelitis. Reaming under simultaneous irrigation and suction appears to be an effective and safe alternative for debridement of the intra medullary infections of femur and tibia. Long term follow up is essential, as post traumatic osteomyelitis can occur at any time after surgical treatment although the majority of recurrences are seen within 2 years

Septic complications of long bone fracture are still a significant clinical problem. Although inflammatory process after intramedullary nailing is a rare complication, its treatment is complex. The aim of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of the treatment of septic complications of the long bone union with use of Reamer–Irrigator–Aspirator (RIA) technique and intramedullary antibiotic-coated PMMA nailing. An analysis of the effectiveness of treatment of 49 patients with septic non-union of long bones (12 femur, 37 tibia), in which the RIA method was applied with antibiotic cement impregnated intramedullary nailing. Treatment consisted of reaming of long bone canal using the RIA technique and the intramedullary cement coated nail with the targeted antibiotic. Treatment required second stage with nail exchange and PMMA removal after 6 weeks to prevent the resitant strains selection. In a group of patients treated with use of above-mentioned method the remission of inflammatory process was achieved in all cases. 32 (67%) patients developed bone union, 24 patients with tibial and 8 patients with femoral septic bone union disorders. The average duration of bone union obtainment with intramedullary nailing was 37 weeks. The most common inconveniences that occurred during treatment was prolonged wound discharge and pain. Inflammatory complications of fractures in our material involved extensive injuries, usually high-energetic. Stabilization with intramedullary locked nail coated with antibiotic cement after debridement with RIA method is a convincing treatment. An essential element of biological bone union is to provide a good cover of the bone tissue with a soft tissue envelope and sequestrectomy. The success of the treatment of infected pseudoarthrosis may be obtained under condition of: radical removal of inflammation tissue, convincing biomechanical dynamized stabilization and antibiotic therapy

Introduction:. Open bone graft harvesting continues to be recognized as the gold standard of obtaining autograft in patients needing bone graft. Conventional bone graft harvesting using the iliac crest is often cited as having significant donor site morbidity and complications. Intramedullary harvesting, using a reamer irrigation aspiration system (RIA) has recently become available. Method:. We performed a retrospective case series on 16 patients, where this system was used. A single pass reaming technique to harvest autograft from the femoral canal was performed. Fluoroscopy was used to size the canal and to confirm placement of a guide wire. Bone harvest volumes, complications encountered and donor site satisfaction post operatively was assessed. Patient satisfaction was determined via telephonic interviews at regular intervals with follow-up times up to 2 years. Results:. The study group consisted of 16 patients with an average age of 31 years. The mean post-operative follow up period was 18.8 months. The average amount of bone harvested was 39.6 cc. Although two technical complications were encountered intra-operatively, there were no systemic effects due to reaming. Most of the patients reported mild to severe pain immediately post operatively with an average pain score of 6.5 (1–10). Only seven patients reported minor pain at the donor site with the last interview bringing the average pain score down to 1.2. All pain scores reduced to zero after 21 months. Conclusion:. RIA was found to be a safe technique with reliable volumes of autograft obtained. Patients recovered quickly with no wound complications reported and minimal donor site morbidity at early follow-up. This new technique seems to be a viable option as an alternative to conventional bone graft harvesting

Background. The management of non-unions of subtrochanteric femoral fractures with associated implant failure is challenging. This study assessed the outcome of a cohort of patients treated according to the diamond concept. Methods. Between 2005–2010 all patients with subtrochanteric aseptic non-unions presented post implant failure (Gamma Nail breakage) were eligible in the absence of severe systemic pathologies and comorbidities. Demographics, initial fracture pattern, method of stabilisation, mode of failure of metal work, time to revision of fixation, complications, time to union, and functional outcome were recorded over a minimum period of follow-up of 12 months. The revision strategy was based on the “diamond concept;” optimising the mechanical and biological environment (revision of fixation, osteoinduction/BMP-7, osteoconduction/RIA harvested graft, and osteogenicity/concentrate of bone marrow aspirate). Results. Out of 280 nailing procedures 12 (4.3%) cases met the inclusion criteria. A consistent mode of metalwork failure was recorded with initial breakage of the proximal distal locking screw followed by nail breakage at the lag screw level. Biomechanical SEM analysis of the nails revealed no structural damage besides the standard fatigue striation. Varus mal-reduction was present in all cases, with an average of 7.3 degrees (5–11). The average time to screw failure was 4.3 months (2–6) and nail failure was 5.9 months (4–10). All but one of the cases were revised to a 95 degrees blade plate and one to an Affixus nail. Time to union was 6.5 months (5–10). All but one of the cases by 12 months have returned to their preinjury level of mobilisation. Conclusion. Varus mal-reduction must be avoided in the initial stabilisation of subtrochanteric fractures. Proximal distal screw failure is predictive of future fracture non-union and subsequent nail breakage. The diamond concept for optimising mechanics and bone biology is a successful method for managing complex sub-trochanteric non-unions with failed metalwork