QuestionMy daughter had surgery 4 months ago (patella re-alignment). Shortly thereafter she became rather ill, and her leg was extremely painful. She had the same surgery on the other knee a few years earlier, and knew this did not feel the same. After many visits to the doctor, bone scans were finally performed & an infection was discovered. A week prior to the latest scan (2 weeks before getting results), the screws were removed & she began to feel better, however, the scan indicates an infection. The doctor does not want to treat as she is feeling better, and believe the screws may have been infected, therefore resulting in osteomylitis. He believes the infection may heal on its own. Is this possible? I asked if another scan should be performed in a few weeks to be sure, but he said it wasn't necessary, as she would know whether or not it was cured, as if not, she would experience more pain. Is this correct, or should we insist on more tests in a period of time to be sure?
thank you for your time.
Answerif someone has osteomyelitis and has hardware, the hardware must be removed and then a prolonged course of antibiotics, then once cured, the hardware may be put back in.... it takes a long time with antibiotics to cure these infections and often, the course is followed by blood counts (white blood counts and sed rates) But , these don't cure themselves... they require antibiotics, usually intravenous.
