Abstract
Osteomyelitis is an infection of the bone that is most commonly of bacterial origin. Cases of fungal osteomyelitis are rare, and treatment often requires a prolonged course of antimicrobials. The authors report a case of a 72-year old man with fungal osteomyelitis affecting an intracortical lag screw, which was discovered during fixation of the left femoral shaft following an injury that occurred 68 years after placement of the affected lag screw. Chronic osteomyelitis can be indolent and subclinical, with the patient experiencing no signs or symptoms of the disease despite having bone infection for decades. This condition may become clinically apparent when a later injury necessitates operative treatment and potentially adversely affects the recovery from that injury.
Recommended Citation
Watterson, Matthew C.; Robert T. Rella; Timothy K. Summers; David Michaeli; and Jess Mullens. "Rare Case of Fungal Osteomyelitis Affecting an Intramedullary Lag Screw." Western Journal of Orthopaedics 14, 1 (2025). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/wjo/vol14/iss1/10