Fig. 2

A 42-year-old male suffered osteomyelitis of the right distal tibia. X-ray films on admission showed nonunion of the tibia (a-b). A thorough debridement was performed. Segmental bone defect occurred after debridement. The bone defect was filled with a cement spacer and the lower limb was stabilized with a plaster cast (c-d). Sixty-two days later, the cement spacer was removed with preservation of the induced membrane, cancellous autografts were placed within the induced membrane, and the tibia was stabilized with a standard external fixator (e-f). The bone was healed at 8 months after the bone grafting; radiographs at 1.5 years follow-up showed bone union (g-h)