Kim D, Lim S, Eo S, Yoon JS. Reconstruction of the lower back wound with delayed infection after spinal surgery: A case report. World J Clin Cases 2023; 11(27): 6646-6652 [PMID: 37900234 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i27.6646]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Jung Soo Yoon, MD, PhD, Doctor, Professor, Surgeon, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, DongGuk University Ilsan Hospital, 814 SikSa-dong, IlSanDong-gu, GoYang-si, GyeongGi-do, Goyang 10326, South Korea. crsboys@naver.com
Research Domain of This Article
Surgery
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Sep 26, 2023; 11(27): 6646-6652 Published online Sep 26, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i27.6646
Reconstruction of the lower back wound with delayed infection after spinal surgery: A case report
DoWon Kim, SooA Lim, SuRak Eo, Jung Soo Yoon
DoWon Kim, SooA Lim, SuRak Eo, Jung Soo Yoon, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, DongGuk University Ilsan Hospital, Goyang 10326, South Korea
Author contributions: Kim D and Yoon JS contributed to manuscript writing and editing, and data collection; Yoon JS contributed to conceptualization and supervision; and all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jung Soo Yoon, MD, PhD, Doctor, Professor, Surgeon, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, DongGuk University Ilsan Hospital, 814 SikSa-dong, IlSanDong-gu, GoYang-si, GyeongGi-do, Goyang 10326, South Korea. crsboys@naver.com
Received: July 18, 2023 Peer-review started: July 18, 2023 First decision: August 16, 2023 Revised: August 22, 2023 Accepted: September 1, 2023 Article in press: September 1, 2023 Published online: September 26, 2023 Processing time: 64 Days and 14.2 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Orthopedic surgeries after device implantation are susceptible to infections and may require device removal in the worst cases. For this reason, many efforts are being made to control infections after spinal surgery; however, the number of infection cases is increasing owing to the increasing number of elderly citizens.
CASE SUMMARY
A 75-year-old male with a chronic spinal defect due to previous spine surgery underwent reconstruction using a perforator-based island flap. After bursectomy and confirmation that there was no connection with the deep tissue, reconstruction was performed. However, wound disruption occurred with abscess formation on postoperative day 29, which led to an imaging workup revealing delayed deep tissue infection.
CONCLUSION
Infection is one of the most common causes of surgical wound dehiscence and is associated with devastating results if not controlled promptly and definitively. Surgeons should always suspect delayed infections when reconstructing chronic soft tissue defects.
Core Tip: Reasonably, several patients with surgical site dehiscence may require flap surgery after spinal surgery. Although surgeons pay close attention to signs of infection during reconstruction, there can be neglected delayed infection around deep devices. Reconstructive surgeons should be cautious when planning flap surgery after implant surgery.
