Accidents cause injuries, some of which may require life-saving measures. However, one that you may not immediately consider in that category is a broken leg. In some instances, a broken bone may require the most extreme intervention to save the rest of the body from infection.
Find out more about how a car crash can cause a bone break so severe it requires the removal of a limb.
What causes a compound leg fracture?
Vehicles colliding sends extreme force coursing through the car and into your body. The areas in direct contact with the vehicle, such as the legs and arms, are most prone to breaks. A compound leg fracture, usually the tibia, can happen as the foot exerts energy onto the brake while the crash sends energy surging up into the foot.
A compound fracture involves the bone separating into two or more pieces. Sometimes, the bones pierce the skin, ripping a wound that tears tissue and allows direct access to the body from dirt and debris. This open compound leg fracture is the worst-case scenario bone break.
What makes an open compound fracture dangerous?
When there is an open wound in the body, bacteria can invade and infect compromised tissue and bone without much resistance from an overwhelmed immune system. Doctors must act quickly to clean out the open wound and cut out any tissue that shows signs of infection. Doctors cannot always close the wound because they may have to repeat this cleaning-out process.
If the infection is too pervasive, doctors have to remove sections of bone and sometimes a part of the limb itself to keep the infection from spreading into vital organs.
An amputation is a catastrophic injury that can alter the course of your life after a car accident.
