Fat Embolism Syndrome in a Preoperative Patient

Abstract

Dyspnea following a long bone fracture brings in the possibility of fat embolism, especially if the symptoms start around 48–72 h after the trauma. Although long bone fractures are associated with fat embolism in more than 90% of cases, the florid syndrome related to fat embolism occurs only in <5% of cases. Here, we report a young male who was admitted to the surgery intensive care unit following a road traffic accident was evaluated for dyspnea before an elective long proximal femoral nailing and internal fixation procedure.

Keywords

• fat embolism syndrome
• interstitial lung shadows
• long bone fracture