Abstract
In this paper, we report a patient with malignant soft tissue tumor who had undergone above-the-knee amputation following development of post-operative Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection.
The patient was a 55-year-old man with synovial sarcoma of the left thigh. After preoperative chemotherapy combined with thermotherapy and radiation therapy, wide local excision of the tumor was performed. One month post-operatively, he suffered a pathological fracture of his left femur, and internal fixation with an intramedullary nail was performed. Immediately after the second operation, marked swelling of the wound and a high grade fever developed. MRSA was detected in the wound discharge. After 10 weeks of daily irrigation and adequate antibiotic infusion, MRSA disappeared on culture testing. However, development of acute arterial embolism of the artificial graft necessitated above-the-knee amputation. In the resected specimen, MRSA was detected in the medullary cavity.
These findings suggest that establishment of criteria for isolation of patients with MRSA infection is necessary.
