Femur fractures in burn patients: A 22-year case series
Capt Patrick M. Wise,
Anastasiya Ivanko,
Capt Wyatt D. Vander Voort,
Mark A. Lee,
Tina L. Palmieri
Affiliations
Capt Patrick M. Wise
60th Surgical Operations Squadron, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, David Grant Medical Center, 101 Bodin Cir, Fairfield CA 94533, United States; UC Davis Health, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, 4860 Y Street, Suite 3800, Sacramento CA 95817, United States; Corresponding author.
Anastasiya Ivanko
UC Davis Health, Division of Burn Surgery and Reconstruction, 2335 Stockton Blvd, Sacramento CA 95817, United States
Capt Wyatt D. Vander Voort
60th Surgical Operations Squadron, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, David Grant Medical Center, 101 Bodin Cir, Fairfield CA 94533, United States; UC Davis Health, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, 4860 Y Street, Suite 3800, Sacramento CA 95817, United States
Mark A. Lee
UC Davis Health, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, 4860 Y Street, Suite 3800, Sacramento CA 95817, United States
Tina L. Palmieri
UC Davis Health, Division of Burn Surgery and Reconstruction, 2335 Stockton Blvd, Sacramento CA 95817, United States
The purpose of this study was to report our experience caring for burn patients with femur fractures and to compare outcomes of fractures treated with internal fixation within and after 48 h of injury. Twenty femur fractures were identified in the 17 burn patients. Two patients died prior to definitive fixation of their fractures. Of the fractures fixed internally within 48 h, 60% (6 out of 10) of fractures went on to predicted union and 44% of patients had systemic complications. Of the fractures treated after 48 h, only 25% (2 out of 8) went onto predicted union and all patients had significant systemic complications. To our knowledge, this is the largest series of femur fractures in burn patients reported, and in this series early internal fixation was associated with more favorable outcomes.
