Fatal Pulmonary Thromboembolism Following Cast Immobilization of Fibular Shaft Fracture.

Na, Joo Young; Min, Byung Woo; Chung, Seung Hyun; Kim, Mi Yeon; Lee, Young Jik; Park, Jong Tae; Kim, Hyung Seok

Case Report

Korean Journal of Legal Medicine 2010;34(2):133-135.
Published online November 30, 2010.

Fatal Pulmonary Thromboembolism Following Cast Immobilization of Fibular Shaft Fracture.

Joo Young Na, Byung Woo Min, Seung Hyun Chung, Mi Yeon Kim, Young Jik Lee, Jong Tae Park, Hyung Seok Kim

¹Department of the Forensic Medicine, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwang-ju, Korea. jtpark@jnu.ac.kr
²Research Institute of Forensic Science, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwang-ju, Korea.
³Department of Pathology, Saint Carollo Hospital, Sun-Cheon, Chonnam, Korea.

Abstract

Pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) is one of the most common and dangerous complications in orthopedic surgery. We experienced a fatal PTE in a 29-year-old man who had a simple fibular shaft fracture and cast immobilization for about one month. Despite simple fibular shaft fracture in patient with low risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE), a terrible outcome occurred. During immobilization, thromboprophylaxis such as low molecular weight heparin should be always considered. We report a rare case of PTE after simple fibular shaft fracture.

Key Words: pulmonary thromboembolism, fibular shaft fracture, cast immobilization