What causes an open fracture?
Open fractures are typically caused by high-energy injuries such as car crashes, falls, or sports injuries. Joe Theismann, a professional football player, famously ended his career with an open fracture that occurred on national television.
What is the treatment of an open fracture?
As mentioned previously, open fractures often require immediate surgery to clean the area of the injury. Because of the break in the skin, debris and infection can travel to the fracture location, and lead to a high rate of infection in the bone. Once an infection is established, it can be a difficult problem to solve. Treatment of established bone infections often requires multiple surgeries, prolonged antibiotic treatment, and long-term problems. Therefore, every effort is made to prevent this potential problem with early treatment. Despite this early treatment, patients with an open fracture are still susceptible to bone infections.
What is the recovery from an open fracture?
Open fractures usually take longer to heal because of the extent of injury to the bone and the surrounding soft-tissues. Open fractures also have a high rate of complications including infection and non-union.
What if I sustain an open fracture?
As stated, early treatment can help avoid problems associated with open fractures. Emergency care will involve antibiotics, cleaning of the fracture site, and stabilization of the bones.
