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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffA hip fracture is a serious injury. Although the fracture itself is treatable, complications can be life-threatening. If you also have an illness that makes it unsafe to undergo surgery to repair your broken hip, your doctor may use a tension system (traction) to allow your hip to heal.
The most significant risk of traction is that it may lead to muscle deterioration and weakness, increasing the likelihood of permanent loss of mobility. In addition, traction keeps you immobile for a long period, during which time you can develop blood clots in the veins of your legs. The affected vein may be near the surface of your skin, causing superficial thrombophlebitis, or deep within a muscle, causing deep vein thrombosis.
You can also develop a blood clot after hip surgery if you don't get up and move around very much. It's possible for a blood clot to become lodged in a pulmonary artery, blocking blood flow to lung tissue. This condition, called pulmonary embolism, can be fatal.
Risks of traction and being immobile include:
- Blood clots
- Bedsores
- Urinary tract infection
- Pneumonia
- Muscle wasting
Additionally, people who've had one hip fracture have a significantly increased risk of having another one.
- Hip fractures among older adults. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/adulthipfx.htm. Accessed Nov. 24, 2009.
- Hip Fractures. Merck Manual of Health and Aging. http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual_ha/sec3/ch23/ch23b.html. Accessed Nov. 24, 2009.
- Burroughs KE. Hip fractures in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 24, 2009.
- Hip fractures. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00392. Accessed Nov. 24, 2009.
- Osteoporosis Prevention: Who's at risk. National Osteoporosis Foundation. http://www.nof.org/prevention/risk.htm. Accessed Nov. 24, 2009.
- Kiel DP. Falls in older persons: Risk factors and patient evaluation. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 24, 2009.
- Kiel DP. Prevention of falls and complications of falls in older persons. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 24, 2009.
- Live it safe: Prevent broken hips. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00305. Accessed Nov. 24, 2009.
- LaVelle DG. Fractures and dislocations of the hip. In: Canale ST, et al. Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. 11th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/172615262-3/0/1584/390.html?tocnode=55689267&fromURL=390.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-03329-9..50055-6--cesec1_2948. Accessed Nov. 24, 2009.
- Morris VA, et al. Medical management of the patient with hip fracture. In: Browner BD, et al. Skeletal Trauma. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: W.B. Saunders; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/172615262-4/919970406/1867/52.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2220-6..10047-7--s0240_2185. Accessed Nov. 24, 2009.
- Auron-Gomez M, et al. Medical management of hip fracture. Clinics in geriatric. 2008;24:701.
- Osteoporosis overview. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Osteoporosis/default.asp. Accessed Nov. 24, 2009.
- Nutrition and bone health. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Bone_Health/Nutrition/default.asp. Accessed Nov. 24, 2009.
- Baumgaertner MR, et al. Intertrochanteric hip fractures. In: Browner BD, et al. Skeletal Trauma. 4h ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: W.B. Saunders; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/175438862-12/929829121/1867/54.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2220-6..10049-0--s0300_237. Accessed Dec. 15, 2009.
- Takahashi PY (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dec. 2, 2009.
