[Diagnostic and therapeutic work-up of infected tibial nonunion].

Background: The failure of bone fracture healing is one of the major complications of fracture treatment, especially of the tibia due to its limited soft tissue coverage and high rate of open injuries. Although implant development is constantly progressing and modern surgical techniques are continuously improving, infected tibial nonunion plays a decisive role in terms of its variable clinical presentation.

Objective: This article provides guidelines for the successful surgical treatment of infected tibial nonunion.

Material and method: Strategies are presented to identify infection as a cause of failure of fracture healing and to achieve infection and bone healing.

Results: A significant amount of tibial nonunions primarily thought to be aseptic ultimately turn out to be infected nonunions.

Conclusion: The treatment of infected tibial nonunion requires extensive clinical, radiological and laboratory diagnostics as well as a profound biomechanical and biological understanding of the bone situation. This is the only way to achieve rapid osseous healing with as few revision interventions as possible.