Healing From Your Compound Fracture: What to Expect

Your bones are the framework of your body — so when you break one, you’ll need time to heal correctly. A compound fracture is serious because the bone breaks through your skin.

Compound fractures are an emergency that must be treated right away. Even with treatment, your recovery may have some bumps along the way.

If you have a broken bone, the team at Vital Orthopedic & Spine Institute is here to help. Dr. Robere Missirian is our orthopedic specialist who offers experienced care during each step of your fracture recovery.

What is a compound fracture?

A compound fracture is a severe injury often due to high-impact damage from something like a fall or car accident. The bone breaks and penetrates through your muscles and skin when you have a compound fracture.

This fracture requires immediate medical care, as the open skin can become easily infected. It’s also excruciatingly painful. If you have a compound fracture, you’ll experience symptoms such as:

• Sharp pain
• Tenderness
• Swelling
• Bleeding
• Bruising

If the bone penetrates through nerve tissues, you could get nerve damage. Nerve injuries can take months or even years to heal after a compound fracture.

It’s scary to see your bone protruding through your skin. Seeing this may induce shock from the sight and the amount of bleeding around the fracture.

You must go to the emergency room immediately if you have a compound fracture. The sooner you get treatment, the less likely you’ll be to suffer from complications.

Treatment options for compound fractures

When you first arrive in the emergency room, one of the doctors assesses your injury. Pain control and infection prevention are the first steps in your treatment.

You’ll most likely need to have surgery to repair the fracture. The doctor gives you pain medication either by mouth or through an IV in your vein. They then stabilize your fracture using a splint to keep it from moving and causing more pain.

While waiting for surgery, our team has you rest your fracture and applies ice to reduce the swelling. You’ll also want to elevate the fracture to allow the inflammation to subside. Our team may also use a compression bandage to help with the swelling.

Surgery for a compound fracture involves Dr. Missirian repairing the fracture while you’re under anesthesia. He realigns your bones to their usual place and secures them with plates, screws, or rods.

After surgery, Dr. Missirian places your fracture in a cast to keep it immobilized as you heal.

What to expect during your recovery

Recovery from a compound fracture usually takes months, depending on the location and severity of your fracture. Prompt treatment significantly decreases your chances of developing complications like infection and other healing issues.

After Dr. Missirian repairs your fracture, you can expect some pain and discomfort for several days while the bones begin healing. Dr. Missirian expects swelling and pain as your body begins to repair the damage through inflammation.

The next stage of healing takes several months. During this stage, your bones are regenerating cells to repair the damage. During this time, immobilization of your fracture is crucial to protect the new bone growth.

During the next several months, the new bone that’s grown gets more substantial and less likely to be damaged. During this stage, you may regain strength and functionality around the fracture.

Dr. Missirian suggests physical therapy as you heal from a compound fracture. These fractures are severe and can cause nerve and muscle damage. You’ll need to participate in rehab to regain mobility and strength, especially after surgery.

If you’ve suffered a fracture and need expert aftercare, don’t hesitate to call one of our conveniently located offices in Fort Myers, Hollywood, Lake Worth, or Pompano Beach, Florida, today to book an appointment. You can also send the team a message on our website.