The induced membrane technique (IMT) or Masquelet technique is a two-step surgical procedure used to treat bony defects (traumatic or resulting from tumoral resections) and pseudo arthroses, even caused by infections. The relatively small case series reported, sometimes with variants to the original technique, make it difficult to assess the real value of the technique. Aim of this study was then to undertake a systematic review of the literature with a particular focus on bone union, infection eradication and complication rates. A systematic review was carried out following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Individual Patient Data (PRISMA-IPD) guidelines. PubMed and other medical databases were searched using “Masquelet technique” and “induced membrane technique” keywords. English, French or Italian written articles were included if dealing with IMT employed to long bones in adults and reporting at least 5 cases with a 12 months minimum follow-up. Clinical and bone defect features, aetiology, surgical data, complications, re-interventions, union and infection eradication rates were recorded into a database. Fischer's exact test and unpaired t-test were used for the statistical analysis on the individual patient's data.Aim
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