Can a broken femur cause blood loss?
Since our bones, especially the long bones in our arms and legs, have a rich blood supply, a broken bone injury can result in excessive bleeding. For example, a bone fracture of the thigh bone (femur) can result in 1-2 liters of blood loss.
How much blood does the femur hold?
While injuries to surrounding nerves are rare in diaphyseal femur fractures, the femur does have a robust blood supply, which can lead to large amounts of blood loss. The large compartments of the thigh can hold up to 3 liters of hemorrhaged blood.
What is the survival rate of a broken femur?
One study reported 11% of women with a distal femur fracture to have osteoporosis, 21% of patients have diabetes and more than 32% have a cardiovascular disease [13]. Mortality rates in the elderly with distal femur fractures have been reported to be around 18% at six months and 18-30% at one year [8,14,15].
Why can a broken femur be fatal?
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 you fully recover from a broken femur?
At some point, you may need physical therapy to restore strength and flexibility to your muscles. Doing your exercises as prescribed can improve your chances for a full recovery. Most femoral fractures take about 4 to 6 months to heal completely, but you should be able to resume many activities before this time.
How serious is a broken femur in the elderly?
A femur break is a serious break at any age but it can be deadly to seniors that are 65 years and older. The femur is the longest bone in the body. Femur breaks/fractures are most likely at the hip but in some cases can be at the lower extremities.
What is the life threatening complications after fracture femur?
Complications of a fractured femur can be serious, even life threatening in some cases. If the fracture has broken through the skin, the possibility for infection is increased. Severe injuries with profuse bleeding may lead to circulatory collapse or shock.
How painful is femur breaking?
A femoral shaft fracture usually causes immediate, severe pain. You will not be able to put weight on the injured leg, and it may look deformed—shorter than the other leg and no longer straight.
How long does it take for a elderly recover from a broken femur?
Recovery most often takes 4 to 6 months. The length of your recovery will depend on how severe your fracture is, whether you have skin wounds, and how severe they are. Recovery also depends on whether your nerves and blood vessels were injured, and what treatment you had.
Is breaking your femur the most painful thing?
The Femur is often put at the top of the most painful bones to break. Your Femur is the longest and strongest bone in your body, running from your hip to your knee. Given its importance, it's not surprising that breaking this bone is an incredibly painful experience, especially with the constant weight being put on it.
Does breaking the femur hurt the most?
Your femur is located in your thigh, running from your hip to your knee. It's long and strong and hurts like heck when you break it. In addition to being one of the most painful breaks, a broken femur can damage the large arteries in the leg and cause severe bleeding.
Is there blood in your femur?
It contains several branches that supply blood to the tissues in the abdominal wall, groin and pubic area. Deep femoral artery: This artery branches off the common femoral artery. It supplies blood to the femur, hip, buttocks and tissues deep in the thigh.
How much can you bleed into your thigh?
[6] For example, the thigh can hold up to 1 to 2 liters of blood. Trauma to blood vessels outside of the bone, but coursing with it anatomically, can also result in significant hemorrhage if they are injured.
Does the femur have a blood supply?
The majority of the blood supply to the head of the femur comes from the medial and lateral circumflex branches of the profunda femoris, which itself is a branch of the femoral artery (the profunda femoris is the deep penetrating branch of the upper thigh).
Does breaking the femur hurt the most?
Your femur is located in your thigh, running from your hip to your knee. It's long and strong and hurts like heck when you break it. In addition to being one of the most painful breaks, a broken femur can damage the large arteries in the leg and cause severe bleeding.