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Old     (ship_of_fools)      Join Date: Sep 2007       09-27-2010, 6:56 AM Reply   
My son (who is almost 14) fractured his femur while wakeboarding yesterday.

He didn't fracture the large bone itself but rather a small "knob" of the bone (lesser trochanter) that holds the tendons and muscles on.

Apparently this usually only happens to adolescents due to the imbalance of muscle/bone strength. And, it is not a common injury. The ER doctor had never seen anyone that has broke this bone before...

Just curious if anyone else has had experience with this and might know how the recovery or treatment might go.

We are scheduled to see a specialist tomorrow. As of now they haven’t done anything for him (no cast, splint, etc.)

Thanks
Old     (GJones)      Join Date: Sep 2010       09-27-2010, 6:55 PM Reply   
Not sure about the specifics of the injury, but if you are in the central texas area I can recommend an excellent ortho in Austin, TX. Had several friends with wakeboarding injuries treated by him and all would send anyone to him. He's a boarder himself.
Let me know if you need contact info.
Old     (cramm)      Join Date: Jun 2010       09-27-2010, 7:35 PM Reply   
I broke my femur couple of years back. Not in the same spot you are describing but broke it pretty bad. After surgery no cast either. Docs told me if it would have been snaped straight in half they can let it heal with no surgery. My recovery was about 3 months no pressure at all. Then 3 months light pressure. Then 6 months rehab getting it back to normal. Every situation is different. If you can get a couple of opions.
Old     (ship_of_fools)      Join Date: Sep 2007       09-29-2010, 5:21 PM Reply   
Thanks for the replies.

Well the doctor said they don't do anything. No cast, no surgery, no splint.

Which surprises be because there is a 1 cm gap between the actual femur bone and his lesser trocahnter. The lesser trochanter is what hold his thigh tendons on, so it is just basically floating. (well there other tendons holding it on but no bone structure)

He said to keep weight off of it and that it would be very painful.

My son really isn't in any pain, he isn't even taking the prescribed medicine (hydrocodone)

Well, I hope there any long term issues because he is into all sorts of sports and other activities.
Old     (aliwake)      Join Date: Dec 2006       09-29-2010, 5:28 PM Reply   
I guess that's good news? it sounds like you still have a lot of questions though... maybe you should get a 2nd opinion?
Old     (Moseley618)      Join Date: Mar 2010       09-29-2010, 5:37 PM Reply   
Get a 2nd opinion, that does not sound right at all.
Old     (bobenglish)      Join Date: Mar 2008       09-29-2010, 9:43 PM Reply   
Getting a second opinion is always a good idea.

However, surgical therapy for avulsion of the lesser trochanter is not normally recommended.
Old     (kyle_L)      Join Date: Mar 2010       09-30-2010, 6:08 AM Reply   
Like vision said, with the lesser troch and at his age, merely staying off the leg will allow the bone to heal. The lesser trochanter is in a pretty sketchy place when it comes to major nerves and arteries and is a very small piece of the bone that would require a major surgery with pinning in a really awkward location. To fix any femoral neck fracture we use the greater troch as our guide and go right through it to place our pins and such. When i was 15 I snapped of my medial epicondyle of my ulna right at the growth plate throwing a baseball from shortstop and just like your son, it was broken off about 1 cm. I was put in a cast for 6 weeks with no surgery required (although a lot of surgeons would have operated on it and probably should have) but at the time casting seemed like a way better option for me lol. At your sons age, he has a lot of growing left to do and if they pinned his femur right at the growth plate like they would have to, it could become a problem in the future and most likely require another surgery to take out the screws.
Old     (ship_of_fools)      Join Date: Sep 2007       09-30-2010, 6:14 PM Reply   
Again, Thanks for the replies.

Well it sounds like doing nothing may be the correct thing to do.

I am really surprised at the fact that he is not complaining about any pain. He must be one tough little dude.

He isn't taking anything for pain and he is on crutches all day at school that comes home and wants to play outside (with his crutches)...

I have to yell at him and make him stay in a chair.

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