The Perils of Open Wound Management in Prosthetic Joint Infection Treatment

Wound breakdown following a total joint arthroplasty is a difficult problem to manage. Early aggressive debridement and closure is essential to prevent a subsequent prosthetic joint infection. Open management of a wound that communicates directly with the joint in the form of wet to dry dressings, iodoform packings, or a non-incisional wound vac should be avoided. Such treatment is inappropriate and leads to difficult to treat multi-organism infections and less than optimal results. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 30(4):263–264, 2021)

Key words: open wound management, prosthetic joint infection