The incidence of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections of the joints or bones has increased in recent years. MRSA is less sensitibe to many types of antibiotics, making it a very difficult infection to treat. We treated two patients who had arthritis caused by MRSA, one in the shoulder joint and the other in the hip joint. The patient with arthritis of the shoulder joint had curettage five times followed by surgical treatment with a musculocutaneous flap of Latissimus dorsi. Another patient with paralysis from the spinal level Th7, developed a decubitus MRSA infection of the sacral region and left sided coxarthritis caused by MRSA. In this patient, the decubitus ulcer was treated using a rotation flap, and the coxarthritis was treated with a muscle flap of Rectus Femoris and Vastus Lateralis after three courses of curettage. Recurrence of MRSA infection has not been noted in these two patients for at least one year since their last operation.
Musculocutaneous flaps are a good method for treating large dead spaces caused by MRSA infections around joints or over bones.
