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Failure or Delay of Fracture Healing

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Joint Function Preservation

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Abstract

Subchondral fractures typically tend to resolve spontaneously with non-surgical treatment; nevertheless, there are some cases in which these lesions persist longer than expected. This delay in healing can be evidenced with persistent “edema like lesions” on MRI and/or persistent articular symptoms. Literature is scarce mainly because it is a silent problem; difficult to evaluate and diagnose in a controlled study. Nevertheless, the problem exists. The main consequence following this injury is the occasional progression to failure of the osteochondral unit with subsequent joint collapse. The aim of this chapter will be to describe and identify the significance of delay in fracture healing; to discuss the main possible modifiable risk factors of delayed bone healing; and to identify early markers of progression and joint failure.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Orthopaedic Arthroscopy Department, Hospital de Mataró, Barcelona, Spain

    Macarena Morales

  2. University of California, San Diego, San Diego, USA

    John G. Lane

  3. Musculoskeletal and Joint Research Foundation, La Jolla, CA, USA

    John G. Lane

  4. Clinica Nostra Signora Della Mercede, Rome, Italy

    Fabio Sciarretta

  5. Orthopaedic Arthroscopic Surgery International (O.A.S.I.) Bioresearch Foundation, Gobbi N.P.O., Milan, Italy

    Ignacio Dallo & Alberto Gobbi

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  1. Macarena Morales
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  2. John G. Lane
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  3. Fabio Sciarretta
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  4. Ignacio Dallo
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  5. Alberto Gobbi
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. O.A.S.I. Bioresearch Foundation Gobbi NPO, Milan, Italy

    Alberto Gobbi

  2. Musculoskeletal and Joint Research Foundation, San Diego, CA, USA

    John G. Lane

  3. Orthopaedics and Traumatology Unit, University Campus Biomedico, Roma, Italy

    Umile Giuseppe Longo

  4. OASI Bioresearch Foundation Gobbi NPO, Milan, Italy

    Ignacio Dallo

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Morales, M., Lane, J.G., Sciarretta, F., Dallo, I., Gobbi, A. (2022). Failure or Delay of Fracture Healing. In: Gobbi, A., Lane, J.G., Longo, U.G., Dallo, I. (eds) Joint Function Preservation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82958-2_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82958-2_13

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