Taylor et al. review the two-stage induced membrane (Masquelet) technique for managing large segmental bone defects, covering its biologic basis, step-by-step surgical execution, published union rates across multiple clinical series, complications, and unresolved research questions.
When you encounter a patient with large segmental bone loss — whether from trauma, infection, or tumor — the Masquelet technique gives you a systematic two-stage framework: place an antibiotic PMMA spacer to grow the membrane (wait 4–8 weeks), then fill with cancellous autograft and close the membrane over it.
The single most preventable cause of failure is inadequate débridement before stage one, so be thorough — the 0–8% septic failure rate in the literature reflects cases where this step was compromised.
Taylor et al. review the two-stage induced membrane (Masquelet) technique for managing large segmental bone defects, covering its biologic basis, step-by-step surgical execution, published union rates across multiple clinical series, complications, and unresolved research questions.
When you encounter a patient with large segmental bone loss — whether from trauma, infection, or tumor — the Masquelet technique gives you a systematic two-stage framework: place an antibiotic PMMA spacer to grow the membrane (wait 4–8 weeks), then fill with cancellous autograft and close the membrane over it.
The single most preventable cause of failure is inadequate débridement before stage one, so be thorough — the 0–8% septic failure rate in the literature reflects cases where this step was compromised.