# Fiberfill©—A New Bone Substitute for Treatment of Chronic Osteomyelitis?

## TL;DR

This study evaluates Fiberfill©, a new bone substitute, for treating chronic osteomyelitis and finds it effective with minimal complications.

## Contribution

The study introduces Fiberfill© as a novel allogenic bone substitute for reconstructing bone defects in chronic osteomyelitis.

## Key findings

- 89% of patients had no re-infection after treatment with Fiberfill©.
- 92% of patients showed complete or partial bone healing.
- 78% of patients were fully weight-bearing post-surgery.

## Abstract

Background/Objectives: Therapy of osteomyelitis first aims to control infection of the bone and surrounding tissue. Once that is achieved, surgeons are regularly faced with defects of the bone as a result of the infection. Reconstruction of the bone is necessary. In the past years, various bone substitutes were developed. Since 2022, we have used Fiberfill© as a new allogenic material. The aim of this study is to analyze the outcome of patients with chronic osteomyelitis who received bone reconstruction with Fiberfill©. Methods: Patients who suffered from chronic osteomyelitis and received Fiberfill© for bone reconstruction between October 2022 and July 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. Endpoints were infection control, bone healing and function in terms of weight bearing. Data was analyzed descriptively. Results: 38 patients with a mean age of 55.6 years ± 16.4 years standard deviation were analyzed and seen for clinical and radiographic control after surgery with a mean follow up of 60 weeks up to three years. Mean defect size was 2.4 cm. Thirty-four patients (89%) did not have any re-infection. Complications associated with Fiberfill© were not found in any patients. Healing of the bone (completely and partially) was found in 35 patients (92%). Twenty-nine patients (78%) walked fully weight bearing. Seven patients were active with partial weight bearing at time of last follow-up (19%). Conclusions: Fiberfill© can be regarded as a bone substitute for reconstruction of bone defects in therapy of osteomyelitis. We did not find clear disadvantages or a high number of complications after filling up bone defects with Fiberfill©.