Acute Osteomyelitis of the Patella 50 Years After a Knee Fusion for Septic Arthritis

Abstract

Nontraumatic, hematogenous osteomyelitis of an unfused patella occurred in a 62-year-old female patient, 50 years after septic arthritis of the knee was treated in childhood by femorotibial fusion. This extremely rare condition was successfully treated by a patellectomy, continuous irrigation, and antibiotics. This occurrence seems not to have been reported previously in English literature.