Fracture Blisters: An Informative Personal Perspective

"Fracture blisters result from blood accumulating under the skin in the area of a fracture that is accompanied by swelling. This results from skin breakdown and ulceration. These blisters typically occur within 24 to 48 hours after the injury occurs, and may take weeks to heal."

Fracture blisters commonly form over tibia, ankle and elbow fractures.There is nothing that may be done to prevent fracture blisters from forming, as this is a natural occurrence that happens with severe trauma to the bone.

However, the timing of surgery is important. Since fracture blisters form within 24 to 48 hours of the injury, it is best if the surgery take place before fracture blister formation, due to the possibility of infection forming, from the seepage of fluid of the blisters coming into contact with the incision. The fluid contained inside the blister is sterile, but when the fluid comes into contact with the impurities of the skin, it becomes contaminated. if If fracture blisters form after surgery there is less chance of an infection.

When and if fracture blisters do form the care for them is quite simple. Keep the top of the blister intact and keep them dry. A soft gauze pad may be placed over the blisters if so desired.

My husband had a severe work related injury, where a tree that was being loaded onto a truck, was swung around, by an inexperienced loader operator. and came in contact with his lower leg shattering the fibula and breaking the tibia in two places. His ankle was also broken to the extent that his foot was detached from the leg,only being held in place by skin and tendon.

He was rushed to the emergency room where he received surgery on the leg and ankle at which time a steel rod was implanted onto the tibia and the fibula to reinforce the bone and a steel plate was inserted to reattach his foot to his leg.

He was then placed in a temporary cast, kept in the hospital overnight for observation and given instruction on how to care for his injuries, taught how to properly use his crutches and sent home the next day, doctors appointment in hand, with the orthopedic surgeon for the following month.

He developed some severe pain in his leg so we called the doctor for advice. The doctor feared the possibility of a blood clot/clots so he was sent to the hospital for an CT scan of his leg. To perform the CT scan, his temporary cast had to be removed and at that point is when we had our first view of the fracture blisters.

When the doctor removed the cast he said "Well, everything looks to be doing just fine", and I promptly replied "No it doesn't, it looks like crap! His entire leg is rotting off!" and that is exactly what it looked like.

There were these huge fluid filled blisters that were dark red in color, some that were a deep purple, outlined in green that ranged in size from that of a dime up to the size of a large lemon, covering his leg from the knee to his ankle. Some of the blisters had burst, leaking a vicious looking reddish-yellow fluid that had caused the gauze separating the cast from his leg, to stick to the wound. It was a terrible sight that we were completely unprepared for.

It would have been much less stressful for my husband and myself had we been aware of the possibility of this medical condition, that seems to be quite common with this type of injury, but that possibility had never been explained to us. Not from the orthopedic surgeon, not from the hospital staff nor from the many individuals that we came into contact with during the treatment process of my husbands injury.

Needless to say, my husband's fracture blisters healed with time, however there was some complication with one of his surgical incisions, as a blister formed at the site. The healing process for fracture blisters is long and slow. It was approximately 8 weeks after the fracture that they had healed completely, leaving dark gray scars, that resemble bruises as the only evidence that they ever were present.

My purpose with this article is to inform as well as educate, on the possibility of fracture blisters forming at the sight of broken bones, so that this experience, of unpreparedness will not happen to another individual. But if it should, you will be aware of this disturbing possibility.