A method used by the military to help wounded soldiers, is now being used by civilian doctors to treat infection.
There are about 500,000 cases of surgical infections every year, and now there may be a more effective way to treat them, called antibiotic beads. They look like a medium-sized pearl necklace, but they pack a powerful punch.
"These cement balls are actually porous, so the antibiotics can leach out over time," says Dr. Jens Chapman.
He says antibiotic beads have been used to treat bone and soft tissue infection for years, "The beads are usually used for smaller environments, such as in the spine where we have tight disc spaces or vertebra. Or holes from previous implants where we can just literally adapt them to that location."
For Dustin Swartz, who broke his back riding an ATV, a bad infection after his first surgery made him seriously sick, "I almost died."
Dustin was transferred to the care of Dr. Chapman, who used antibiotic beads to treat his badly infected wound. "Basically, they explained that it's a bead infused with the antibiotic and it slowly releases it, kind of like an extended release pill almost, that releases the antibiotics into the wound," says Dustin.
"You see these little beads appear - these little white dots. Those are the beads on the cross section, they are running the length of the spine wound," according to Dr. Chapman.
This worked for Dustin. With the infection gone, doctors removed the beads and put in new hardware, including 16 titanium screws, to straighten Dustin's spine. He's healthy again, back at work and, able to play with his three-year-old son.
The F-D-A has not yet approved the manufacture of antibiotic beads, so hospitals and surgeons make their own using bone cement and antibiotics. The beads have also been used for infected breast implants and large scale soft tissue injuries from wounds caused by explosions.
