Antibiotic‐Impregnated Calcium Sulfate Beads for Local Therapy of Severe Skull Base Osteomyelitis

We report on a patient with severe progressive osteomyelitis of the lateral skull base, despite targeted long‐term antibiotic therapy. Successful treatment and recovery of the facial nerve palsy were achieved through additional surgical debridement and insertion of synthetic calcium sulfate beads as a local antibiotic carrier to the skull base. We describe the characteristics of this novel biodegradable long‐term release matrix and the surgical technique in detail. The patient is free from recurrence 2 years postoperatively.