Pronounce Comminuted Fracture (2024)

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Pronounce Comminuted Fracture? ›

Comminuted (pronounced “kah-meh-noot-ed”) fractures are a type of broken bone. The term comminuted fracture refers to a bone that is broken in at least two places. These fractures can affect any large or long bone in your body.

What Is a Comminuted Fracture? A comminuted (kah-muh-NOOT-ed) fracture is a type of broken bone. The bone is broken into more than two pieces.

Patients will almost always be non-weight bearing to allow for healing. As with most fractures, the acute healing process can take anywhere from six to twelve weeks, with the complete healing process taking up to a year for a complex comminuted fracture.

Complicated fracture – structures surrounding the fracture are injured. There may be damage to the veins, arteries or nerves, and there may also be injury to the lining of the bone (the periosteum). Comminuted fracture – the bone is shattered into small pieces.

A comminuted fracture describes a bone that has been broken in three or more places. In general, if a bone is broken in more than four places it can be considered highly comminuted.

comminute \KAH-muh-noot\ verb. : to reduce to minute particles : pulverize. Examples: "Type III fractures are comminuted (involve multiple broken pieces of bone), which lead to mechanical blocks to motion and significant elbow joint and ligament damage.

Comminuted fractures are very serious injuries. If you experienced other injuries during the original trauma, your life might be impacted forever. Because the traumas that cause comminuted fractures are often life-threatening accidents it's tough to separate one from the other.

A comminuted fracture happens when you break a bone into three or more pieces. You'll usually need surgery to repair a comminuted fracture and treat related complications. Doctors may use hardware like rods and screws to attach the pieces of bone.

Example: A comminuted fracture is the most difficult to repair due to the bone having fractured into numerous pieces. Multiple bone pieces require more effort to hold them together in the ideal position for healing.

Recovering from comminuted fractures can take a year or beyond, significantly longer than the recovery period for less serious types of breaks. After surgery, your affected bone needs to be immobilized with a cast, brace, or splint. For a few weeks, your symptoms of pain, bruising, and swelling may be notable.

What are the stages of bone healing after comminuted fracture? ›

Osteoporosis doesn't affect how quickly your bones heal. Most fractures are better in 6 to 12 weeks. Chances are, you'll spend many of those weeks at home. Learning to get around can take time, but you can do some things to get back to your normal activities more quickly and stay healthy while you're at it.

One kind is a comminuted fracture. This injury happens when your bone breaks into three or more pieces. Fractures can be open or closed. If your skin breaks open from the wound, doctors call it an open or compound fracture.

Transverse Fracture

This is when a bone breaks clean and straight across. This is one of the simplest types of broken bones and one of the easiest to correct and heal.

A comminuted (or multifragmentary) fracture is a complete fracture where the bone is broken into several fragments. This type of fracture is usually a result of a severe injury.

Derived forms. comminution (ˌcommiˈnution) noun. Word origin. C17: from Latin comminuere, from com- (intensive) + minuere to reduce; related to minor.