Femur Fracture. Now what?

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GoldenGirls
GoldenGirls Member Posts: 608
edited June 2016 in Stage IV/Metastatic Breast Cancer ONLY

Had to call an ambulance for my mother last night because she heard a popping/cracking sound above her knee and couldn't put any weight on it. I called the ambulance because she lives on the 3rd floor of a building with no elevator and I couldn't get her down the stairs. She is currently at our small town hospital. The x-ray shows a fractured femur. It's not a complete break.

The ER doctor is waiting to consult with a bigger hospital this morning to see if she needs surgery. I am guessing with all of bone mets and a fracture that happened while standing still that surgery is very likely, but don't know for certain.

I know there are many on here who have had femur fractures and wondering if anyone had a small fracture repaired with radiation and immobilizing the leg instead. Is that even a possibility? And what is the rehab/recovery like? With so many mets in her spine --which she was to start radiation for this week before this happened-- will crutches even be an option?

She won't be able to stay at her place because of the stairs so we are trying to get an idea of what comes next after a femur fracture. At last check she was in bed with a temporary cast and a catheter waiting for the doctor in the ER to consult with the other hospital.


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  • Fitztwins
    Fitztwins Member Posts: 7,969
    edited June 2016

    I have a tumor in my femur right now. So I have been reading a lot on the subject. They will probably put a rod in and stabilize the leg. I am not sure if they do rads before or after. I would imagine after, not sure.A lot will depend on where her mets are, how involved, etc. She will need rehab/therapy too. There are a lot of devices that she will need, something for the toilet, to help her get up/down, shower, wheel chair maybe? walker...

    Any how, there will probably be someone in the hospital that will help you with all of this.


    Good luck to your mother. I hate mets!!

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  • LindaE54
    LindaE54 Member Posts: 2,054
    edited June 2016

    Geez Golden, that must be painful. I agree with Fitz, she will probably need a rod to stabilize. Does your Mom have a met on the femur? I had a femoral rod insertion back in April 2014 for a met. Surgery went very well. Stayed 4 days in hospital, then used a walker for a few weeks, then cane. I was given exercises to do by hospital physiotherapist and blood thinner for a month or two can't remember, to avoid blood clot. Then had 5 rounds of rads about a month later. Good thing it's not a complete break, it will heal much faster. If surgery happens, she can expect a lot of swelling and bruising and pain unfortunately. I was told to take pain meds as prescribed to avoid chronic pain.

    Hoping that consult happens quickly!

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  • Kandy
    Kandy Member Posts: 1,461
    edited June 2016

    Good answers so far. I agree that they will more than likely do surgery. I hope she recovers quickly. I hate mets too, grrrr

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  • GoldenGirls
    GoldenGirls Member Posts: 608
    edited June 2016

    Thanks ladies! She has multiple mets from skull to toes. Funnily enough, she was scheduled to go for a bone scan this morning to check the mets in her leg because she had started having pain the other day and the onc wasn't convinced it was related to the spine as originally thought. Thankfully it happened last night and not while I was trying to get her down the stairs for that appointment or we'd both have had broken bones! (We're not exactly light! lol)

    The fracture goes almost all the way around the bone on an angle just above the knee, but is very fine and not at all deep. If she has to have surgery at the hospital closer to here then they will arrange for a transfer for her spine rads next week, which is nice. The logistics were starting to worry me seeing as how that hospital is 40 minutes away from home and the cancer center is almost 2 hours away.

    I guess I'll know more tomorrow. Now I'm off to take her a prosciutto and Havarti sandwich on a Portuguese bun and a black forest cake. You'd think she was pregnant and craving with the stuff she's asked for!

    Thanks again!

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  • artistatheart
    artistatheart Member Posts: 2,176
    edited June 2016

    You're a good daughter Golden! Sorry you and your Mom are going through so much......You too Fitz, sorry about the new met on your femur. You've been through enough with such grace. I HATE mets!

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  • GoldenGirls
    GoldenGirls Member Posts: 608
    edited June 2016

    I try :)

    Thanks all! And it goes without saying that I also HATE mets!

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  • jessicacomposer
    jessicacomposer Member Posts: 1
    edited June 2016

    I know some breast cancer survivors who experienced low-impact or spontaneous femoral shaft fractures not because of a metastasis to the femur but rather as a side effect of the bisphosphonate (such as Zometa) that they were taking. Their doctors usually assumed initially that the cause was a bone met. It's important to figure out the difference, because if it's the drug, they need to stop taking it right away. The usual treatment is inserting a metal rod into the bone.

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  • GoldenGirls
    GoldenGirls Member Posts: 608
    edited June 2016

    A new and happy update on my mom's condition. The orthopedic surgeon sent her for a CT scan and found only one small tumor in the area of the fracture and because the fracture, though long, is not very deep, they will not need to do surgery and will instead use radiation, a leg brace, and physical therapy. Whew! It's still a few weeks to feeling better, but radiation will happen soon and should help with the pain very quickly. This also means that her spine rads, which were already booked, will only be delayed by a couple of days as opposed to weeks.Thanks again everyone!


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  • LindaE54
    LindaE54 Member Posts: 2,054
    edited June 2016

    Golden, Now that's good news!

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