Are femur injuries life threatening?
Are femur injuries life threatening?
Caution: A fractured femur may be life-threatening. Death can occur following a femur fracture due to complications such as blood clots, pneumonia, or infection. Symptoms of life-threatening injury include: Localized swelling in the legs or groin, with redness and tenderness to touch.
Can kids break their femur?
Newborns and Infants Femur fractures in newborns are unusual, but can occur, for example, in babies born with a skeletal dysplasia such as osteogenesis imperfecta – also known as brittle bone disease – or sometimes following a very difficult delivery.
Why are femur fractures a serious emergency?
Hemorrhagic shock: Closed fractures of the femur can result in significant blood loss (eg, 1 L) within the thigh. Open fractures have the potential for even greater blood loss.
How much force does it take to break a child’s femur?
If you’re in the market for a short answer, it takes about 4,000 newtons of force to break the typical human femur.
Is femur fracture an emergency?
All femoral shaft fractures should be referred for an urgent orthopaedic assessment in the ED. Other indications for prompt consultation include: open fractures. neurovascular injury with fracture.
What causes a femur fracture in a child?
The femur is a strong bone and is very hard to break. So a femur fracture is often the result of great force during severe trauma (such as a car accident, bad fall, or serious sports injury).
What are the risks of an open femur shaft fracture?
Open fractures often involve much more damage to the surrounding muscles, tendons, and ligaments. They have a higher risk for complications—especially infections—and take a longer time to heal. (Left)An oblique fracture has an angled line across the shaft. (Right)A comminuted fracture is broken into three or more pieces. Cause
Are there any complications with a broken femur?
Are there any complications with broken femurs? 1 Proper setting. If the femur is not set properly, there’s a chance the leg will become shorter… 2 Peripheral damage. The break may also injure the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and nerves of the leg. 3 Surgical complications. Some complications related to surgery include infection and blood clots.
Which is the best description of a broken femur?
The break is a straight horizontal line. Oblique fracture. The break has an angled line. Spiral fracture. The break has a line that encircles the shaft like the stripes on a barber pole or candy cane. Comminuted fracture. The bone is broken into three or more pieces. Compound fracture. Bone fragments are sticking out through the skin.