Fibula Fracture treatment cost in India

Know More About Procedure & Surgery

What is Fibula?

The fibula helps stabilize and support your leg, body, ankle, and leg muscles. It runs parallel to the tibia, a larger bone that also forms the shin, and attaches the ankle and knee joint. The fibula only carries 17 percent of the body’s weight. A fibula fracture happens when more pressure is put on the bone than it can handle.

Types of Fibula Fractures

There are different types of fractures, which can also affect treatment and recovery. These types include:

• Lateral malleolus fracture, a break around the ankle
• Fibular head fracture, a break near the knee
• Avulsion fracture, a fracture in which a small part of the bone gets pulled off
• Stress fracture, a hairline fracture due to repetitive injury
• Shaft fracture, a break that often affects the middle of the leg due to direct impact

Except for stress fractures, these fractures often occur due to a traumatic injury or more pressure placed on the bone than it can handle. This can happen when you roll your ankle, have a direct blow to the leg, fall, or experience sports-related trauma.

Factors that reduce bone mass can also increase your risk for a fracture. These include:

• Smoking
• Being female (except for fractures near the ankle)
• Older age
• Playing contact sports, such as soccer and rugby
• practicing sports with frequent direction changing, such as snowboarding

Symptoms

Other than pain and swelling, other signs of a fibula fracture include:

• Deformity in the lower part of the leg
• Tenderness and bruising
• Pain that gets worse when putting pressure on the leg
• Tingling or numbness, which usually happens if there is a neurovascular injury

Other joints and bones involved, such as the tibia, may also have symptoms.

Diagnosis

Your doctor will physically examine you for signs and may order an X-ray, which will show the break. For fractures that need more precise imaging, your doctor may order a CT scan to see how severe the injury is.

Treatment

Treatment depends on how severe the fracture is, the type, and where the injury is. Fractures are often categorized as closed (skin is intact) or open (skin is broken).

Whether closed or open, after your doctor aligns your bones, they’ll place your leg in a cast or splint. This prevents movement so the fracture can heal. You may get crutches. A physical therapist can teach you how to walk without putting weight on the broken leg.

Closed (simple) fracture treatment

Closed fractures may or may not need surgery. A splint or cast that prevents movement is usually all that is needed unless there are other parts of the leg that are also injured.

If you do require additional treatment to realign your bones, your doctor may recommend:

• Closed reduction: Your doctor realigns ends of a broken bone without cutting into your skin.
• Open reduction: Your doctor does invasive surgery on bones that may have broken in more than two places.
• Nonunion: Nonunion can be surgical or noninvasive, and it’s done when the ends of a fractured bone don’t heal together. When surgery isn’t needed, your doctor will usually use electrical and magnetic stimulation devices along with bone grafting.

Open (compound) fracture treatment

Follow the RICE principle while you wait for help: rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Open fractures require surgery as there may be additional injuries, such as skin loss and damage to arteries.

Your doctor will focus on:

• cleaning the wound to avoid contamination and infection
• stabilizing the wound to keep bones in place before surgery
• getting imaging tests to see what type of surgery is needed
• determining whether antibiotics are needed to prevent infection

During surgery, your doctor may use internal or external methods for fixing your fracture. For internal fixations, your doctor will place metal implants inside the broken bone to hold the fracture together while it heals. Severe open fractures require external fixations, where the metal screws or pins project outside the skin to keep the bones in place. This is usually done until you’re ready for internal fixations.

Recovery       

The general process for healing a fibula fracture is immobilization with a splint or cast for several weeks, after which you might get a walking boot to help you walk. Recovery time depends on factors such as:

• The severity of the injury and the presence of any other injury at the same time
• Your age
• How well you can follow your doctor’s orders
• Whether or not you require surgery
• The amount of time spent on physical therapy
• Any underlying conditions that may affect healing

During recovery, your doctor will schedule follow-up X-rays to make sure your bones are healing properly. Follow the activities outlined by your physical therapist and doctor to encourage recovery.

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