Fig. 1

A 41-year-old male suffered from osteomyelitis of the right proximal tibia. Radiographs on admission showed loose and broken screws (a-b). The hardware was removed and a thorough debridement was performed. Partial segmental bone defect occurred after debridement. The bone defect was filled with cement beads, and the tibia was stabilized with a standard external fixator (c-d). Eighty days later, the cement beads were removed; cancellous autografts were placed within the bone defect and the external fixator was exchanged with internal fixation (e-f). The bone was healed at 11 months after the bone grafting; radiographs at 2 years follow-up showed bone union (g-h)