Osteomyelitis in the head and neck

Abstract

Since the advent of antibiotics osteomyelitis in the head and neck is relatively uncommon and the condition has become a sort of medical curiosity. In the last 16 years, only three cases have been seen by the second author. It is the purpose of this paper to present these cases from our experience and to show that control and cure may only be achieved by early diagnosis, appropriate antibiotic therapy and, where necessary, by radical surgery with the excision of all diseased bone and with prolonged use of antibiotics post-operatively. In cases of diagnostic difficulties the use of scintigraphy is advisable. Established osteomyelitis of the frontal bone necessitates CAT scanning of the cranium to exclude intracerebral extension.