Are All Broken Femur Treated with Surgery?
Yes. To enable your broken bone to heal properly, your provider will do a surgery if you have a broken femur. You will probably have surgery 24 to 48 hours after you seek treatment for your injury. There are basically two types of surgery that your providers could do:
- Open Reduction and Internal Fixation (ORIF) [3]
- External fixation [4]
With surgery, your surgeon will make an incision at your hip or knee joint. Then they will line up the broken pieces and stabilize the femur with a piece of metal.
What kind of metal pieces are used in ORIF surgery?
There are various metal pieces that your provider can opt for when conducting ORIF surgery, they include:
- Rods: Rods are used in a surgical procedure called an intramedullary wail. Your surgeon will insert the mail into your leg through your medullary cavity. Your medullary cavity is the section in the middle of your bone where the bone marrow is stored.
- Metal plates: Similar to splints placed on the outside of your leg, your surgeon will place metal plates flat against the bone to keep the fracture stable. Stews will be used to keep the plates in place.
- Screws: Your surgeon will place screws at the top and bottom of the rod or plate. This keeps the rod or plate in place.