Osteomylitis from a sore

by Jennifer
(Chatham, Ontario Canada)

I have a birth defect called Spina Bifida. Over a year ago. I developed a sore on the bottom of my foot and it became infected with osteomylitis. After 2 mths. on oral antibiotics and then another 5 mths. on a pick line for I.V. antibiotics I got rid of the infection, but had a minor flare up a few months later. So in total it was 10 mths. on antibiotics. I was just recently told by my general surgeon that I may have osteomylitis again in a new wound but, in the same spot as before. I have been told by my spina bifida specialist that I will be dealing with these sores the rest of my life. All the websites discuss methods of diagnosis and treatment. I would like to know all the possible outcomes if you choose not to fight the infection and also, possibly choose not to amputate?

Hi Jennifer,
There is a multitude of problems that can occur with osteomyelitis, however some people do live with a chronic ostemyelitis but it is usually in an area like a toe where everyday functioning is not affected by the infection.
With an osteomyelitis some of the things that can happen is the infection can spread and if it hits the blood stream one of the possibilities is that you could die. Additionally, an infected area like an osteomyelitis can undergo malignant changes and you would end up with a type of cancer. Thirdly, depending where the bone infection is located, the surrounding bone could weaken and you would lose function in that area.
I know a lot of the potential complications are scary and truthfully, I cannot tell you the percent of untreated bone infections that end up like this but if you are otherwise a healthy individual, then you would want to do all that you can to clear up any bone infection that may develop.
Marc Mitnick DPM