Broken legs

Nerdfighter-Ronni

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Hello!

So one of my characters ends up with two broken legs. I know one is his femur, and the other definitely is not. And one is a spiral break, while the other is just a normal fracture. He's male, 17 years old, 6'0", and in good physical condition. My questions, how long would he be in the hospital? Also, how long would he be in a wheelchair? And is there anything else I would need to know? I hope that all makes sense :)
Any help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

~ Ronni
 

sheadakota

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Hello!

So one of my characters ends up with two broken legs. I know one is his femur, and the other definitely is not. And one is a spiral break, while the other is just a normal fracture. He's male, 17 years old, 6'0", and in good physical condition. My questions, how long would he be in the hospital? Also, how long would he be in a wheelchair? And is there anything else I would need to know? I hope that all makes sense :)
Any help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

~ Ronni
Spiral fractures are usually caused by a twisting force and do not often happen too adults as the limb will snap before it spiral- but at 17 it could be possible- I probably would not make the femur your spiral break. If the femur is a straight forward fracture it would be repaired by pinning it- no cast, just an incision in the thigh.

A spiral break is also called an incomplete fracture as the bone is not complelely broken or displaced. a cast would be the ticket here if the lower leg- either the tibia or fibula is broken or both.

If no other inuries have occurred your MC technically would not require a hospital stay for just two broken legs- however a force that would fracture a femur- the hardest bone in the human body- would most likely result in other serious injuries that would require a hospital stay- depends on what and where those injuries are to answer the how long question- the wheelchair question- hmm I am guessing about six weeks at the earliest - I'm not an ortho specialist though ( trauma nurse) so feel free to take others opinion-:)
 

Nerdfighter-Ronni

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If no other inuries have occurred your MC technically would not require a hospital stay for just two broken legs- however a force that would fracture a femur- the hardest bone in the human body- would most likely result in other serious injuries that would require a hospital stay- depends on what and where those injuries are


Thank you so much that definitely helps!

What "other serious injuries" could occur from a factured femur?

Also, I probably should've mentioned that neither of the breaks were accidental. He got kidnapped by the mafia and they intentionally broke both his legs.
 

jclarkdawe

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Also, I probably should've mentioned that neither of the breaks were accidental. He got kidnapped by the mafia and they intentionally broke both his legs.

They wouldn't probably break his femur. Too difficult. More likely they would take out his knees and ankles. A lot more damage for a lot less effort, probably inducing some level of permanent limp, and much more difficult to treat. Dual tib-fibs would be more likely to put in a wheelchair than a femur and tib-fib. I will admit that the pain level on a femur is massive.

Femurs cause massive internal and external bleeding frequently and patients can bleed out from the fracture. An infection with a femur fraction is one major complication.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe
 

sheadakota

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I agree with Jim- Go with the knees and tib/fibs if this is a mafia hit. But to answer your question- for a femur to break requires a tremendous amount of force. That force would be enough to cause blunt force trauma to soft tissues ans internal organs as well- like in a car accident- a fall that would break a femur would likely break other bones and again soft tissue and organ damage- to isolate and break a femur as you describe, by a mafia hit- would be hard but not impossible and as Jim mentioned would most likly cause internal bleeding and depending on how it was broken (lots of major viens and arteries near by) maybe even death-
 

Nerdfighter-Ronni

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Thanks everyone, this was definitely helpful! I must say I love this site! :) (I just joined today)

I've decided to NOT go with a broken femur. So I guess a spiral break on the tib/fib of one leg, and the other knee is broken. Anything I should know about either of those?
 

sheadakota

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why a spiral break- why not just a straight forward fracture?
 

Tsu Dho Nimh

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The question is: How long DOES THE PLOT NEED? Give us the requirements and we can give you an injury that fits.

For this: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/978477 the victim was in a splint for a week, had surgery, was in a cast until the incisions healed and in a walking boot thing for about 2 months. That was a twisting fall in an icy parking lot. It's the classic "tib-fib", with the fibula left alone to heal on its own ... which it did.

A true spiral fracture is rare outside childhood - and I don't understand why you are insisting on it.

If you want to put the guy in a wheelchair, give him a double tib-fib.
 
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Nerdfighter-Ronni

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Yeah I can go without the spiral...I'm not even sure why I wanted that :).

The time doesn't really matter with the plot. I'd like it to last at least a few weeks, and not any longer than about 6 months.

So I think two tib-fibs would be good. So what should I know about that? :)

Thanks everyone!