Re: FN-FORUM: Totally OT - Broken Pelvis Recovery time

date posted 3rd January 2005 03:09

At 7:02 PM +0000 2005/01/02, Rus Foster wrote:
>Hi
>Totally off topic but thought someone one here might know. For a broken
>pelvis in an older person what would the recovery time be (guessing
>months). Googling for the last 20 minutes hasn't put up anything obvious


(delurking temporarily)
Finally, a question where I can contribute something!

I'm afraid 'months' is a rather optimistic estimate, even for someone
who is relatively young and healthy. Actual recovery times depend on
more than the age of the victim. The specific location of the
fracture is important, as is the nature of the fracture (simple crack
vs. single displaced fracture vs. multiple splinters) and the type of
surgical treatment, if any.

The most recent information I can find is from an article in the
medical journal _Injury_ from March, 2002, that looks at recovery
five years after various types of severe skeletal injuries. The
abstract is available from PubMed (the free public access interface
for the [US] National Institutes of Health's Medline journal
database) at
.
The full text of the article can be ordered online, but it would
probably be less expensive to read it at a nearby hospital or medical
school library.

The information about pelvic fractures is pretty depressing,
especially if the injury isn't treated.

"Patients with stable* pelvic fractures had persisting disability in
54% of cases, which was mild in 42% and moderate or severe in 12% of
patients. In patients with stable pelvic fractures 54% had chronic
pain, which was mild in 24% of patients and moderate or severe in 30%
of patients. Functional problems with mobility, work and sport were
reported in 38, 19 and 19% of patients, respectively."

Sorry the news isn't more encouraging. If you want more information,
please contact me off-list at the address in my signature. One of my
clients is a physician who has a lot of experience with elderly
patients. I can pump him for details and journal references at our
next meeting.

--
K@
Kat Nagel, MasterWork Consulting
( returning to 'lurk and learn' mode )
[EMAIL REMOVED]

*The term 'stable' apparently refers to fractures that have been
surgically repaired with pins or a surgical adhesive.