Treatment
An open fracture is a surgical emergency. Antibiotics are started as soon as possible in the emergency room. The next steps in controlling the risk for infection are to cleanse the wound and remove as much contamination as possible from the skin, soft tissues, and bone. This procedure is called debridement and irrigation, and is typically performed in an operating room. Depending on the severity of your injury, you may require several debridement and irrigation procedures.
If your orthopaedic surgeon suspects an infection after surgery, he or she may initially treat it with antibiotics alone, but you will likely require additional surgery to clean out the infection. During surgery, the orthopaedic surgeon will either swab or take samples of the infected tissue to find out what bacteria is causing the infection. This stage of treatment may require multiple surgeries. Special drains may be placed in the wound to help rid it of pus. Antibiotic delivery systems, like "Outcome
If the infection is successfully treated, patients can recover without serious, ongoing problems. An infection after a fracture, however, may require multiple trips to the operating room, long-term need for antibiotics, and a prolonged course of healing