Achilles Tendon Infection Risks in Synthetic Augmentations-A Case Report

We report the case of a 53-year old man with a history of achilles tendon suture with the use of Ligastic® synthetic graft in 1991. Twenty years after, the patients, with no history of recent trauma or other concomitant local or systemic diseases, showed up to our Orthopaedic Department because of the onset of high fever, wound dehiscence at the site of the previous surgery along with spontaneous purulent discharge. Results of bacterial cultures showed the presence of Staphylococcus Aureus; after a few days of antibiotic treatment, the patient underwent a new surgical treatment in order to adequately counteract and remove the cause of infection. Surgical treatment showed a massive infection surrounding the reconstructed achilles tendon coming from the synthetic graft positioned inside the tendon itself. Removal of this augmentation led to an immediate improvement of systemic and local conditions with satisfactory recovery of function of the ankle.