Pin site infection
Also called: external fixator infection
What it means
A pin site infection is an infection where a metal pin or wire enters the skin from an external fixator, a frame used to hold broken bones in place from outside the body. It causes redness, swelling, drainage, or pain around the pin.
If it spreads, it can threaten the bone itself and slow or complicate healing of your fracture.
External fixation uses pins or wires that pass through the skin into bone, connected to an external frame, to hold fractured bones steady while they heal. Because the pins cross the skin barrier, the area where each pin enters the body is a natural entry point for bacteria, which is why pin site care matters so much during recovery.
Signs of a pin site infection include redness, warmth, swelling, increasing pain, or cloudy or foul-smelling drainage around a pin. Low-grade irritation without spreading redness or fever is common and often manageable, but signs of deeper infection, such as spreading redness, fever, or looseness of the pin, need prompt evaluation by the treating doctor or surgical team.
Treatment depends on severity and may include local wound care, oral or IV antibiotics, or in more serious cases, removal of the pin and possibly surgical treatment of the bone. Any decisions about antibiotics, pin removal, or further surgery should be made by the prescriber or surgeon managing the fracture, not changed on your own.
Pin site infections are a known consideration whenever external fixation is used, including for complex fractures or when internal fixation isn't suitable. Good hygiene, regular monitoring, and following your care team's wound care instructions are the main ways to reduce risk while the bone heals.
A pin site infection can threaten the bone itself and complicate fracture healing if it spreads.
Where this leads
WordPin site infections happen where pins enter an external fixator. Learn how this frame holds fractures steady while they heal.
Related words
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Education only, not medical advice. Decisions about tests, medications and treatment belong with your own doctor. OsteoStrong does not diagnose, treat or cure any disease.
