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So my left femur fractured at day 19, this was in the beginning of July.The femur does not have clear bone growth.Yet that leg is strong nd compensating for the right hip which is bout to be replaced on 1/3,Has anyone else experienced this or know of it?":Km finding very little info on this.Feed back welcome
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beth2509 Msky
Posted
I had never heard of it. But I noticed you weren't getting any responses, and one thing I am good at is research...
A rough and ready look into this tells me that, by this stage, if the fracture has not improved, it is now not likely to. According to what I have read, if there is no remodeling of bone by six months it doesn't seem that there are prospects of it doing so. However, the body is cleverer than that. It knows it's damaged and that it needs to repair somehow. So it tries the best it can. In some cases new cartilage grows around the fracture, but more often it appears to be a form of scar tissue. This is the fibrous union. It's the joining of the broken bone by what are, essentially, fibres of tissue.
These are obviously not as strong as bone. But the prognosis appears to depend on the type of break and the alignment of the break. Some people may barely notice they have a broken bone if the alignment of bone is not far off. So it may be considered a relatively strong bone still. That seems to be the case with you if it can weightbear easily. The location of the break also has a bearing on how effective the bone with fibrous union is.
Risk factors (things that impact of longer term outcomes) seem to be associated with certain lifestyle choices (smoking and excessive alcohol intake) as well as factors such as bone density or avascular necrosis. Deterioration of the site is obviously a possibility, and if there is no bone regrowth, pain is common.
The most common form of correction is surgical - bone grafts. But there have been some successes with non invasive treatments, depending on the individual circumstances.
There's quite a good article here: https://www.mdguidelines.com/malunion-and-nonunion-of-fracture, and if you keyword search using google, you'll find thousands of articles that explain everything. Another keyword that turned up quite a lot of information is " pseudarthrosis".
Does that help you any? Good luck - I hope it does...
Msky beth2509
Posted
That is great information and explains guite s bit.Thank you for your time and perseverance.Will further review that web site.Many thanks💖
AnnieK Msky
Posted
Msky, I don't have any person experience with this situation. What do you mean by the femur not having "clear bone growth"? Is that something the orthopedist can see on x-ray? And if the bone has not grown 6 months, how is it supporting your hip? You say it is, so that seems to be a good thing.
I would direct my any questions about this to my surgeon, if I were you. Hoping for the best for you when you have the other THR on Jan 3!
Msky AnnieK
Posted