Pin-Site Myiasis: A Rare Complication of a Treated Open Fracture of Tibia

Abstract

Pin-site myiasis is a rare complication of external fixation of open fractures of the tibia. Case report and literature review. A 32 year-old man with a history of alcohol and drug abuse presented with an open fracture of the middle third of the fibula and tibia (Gustilo type IIIA) after a motor vehicle crash. Definitive surgical correction of the fracture was made with the insertion of an external skeletal fixator, type Baummer, with 2 bars, 6 pins, and 12 rotules. After three weeks, he presented again with a primary complaint of purulent secretion and maggots at the distal pin site. On removal of the pin, significant destruction of peripheral tissue was evidenced, with a wound approximately 5 cm diameter, from which 105 maggots were extracted, being identified as Cochliomyia hominivorax. There have been no previous reports of myiasis involving an external skeletal fixation and pin, and only one similar case has been reported in a patient with a halo orthosis for the management of a gunshot wound of the neck. As in that case, presumably, in our patient, myiasis occurred via the small infected wound adjacent to the distal pin. Adequate treatment for myiasis requires complete removal of the maggots, as well as antimicrobial therapy.