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Ocular Fat Embolism Syndrome Following Surgical Repair of a Long Bone Fracture Hughes, Lauren P. A.; Dragoman, Ryan M.; Stephenson, Kirk A. J.; Kirker, Andrew W.

Abstract

Fat embolism syndrome (FES) is a rare multisystem disorder caused by the dispersion of fat emboli in the systemic circulation. FES typically occurs after orthopedic trauma and classically manifests as a triad of respiratory failure, neurologic impairment, and petechial rash. Ophthalmic involvement is uncommon in the absence of cardiac or pulmonary arteriovenous shunts and presents with diffuse retinal hemorrhages and accompanying visual disturbances. We report a case of FES and Purtscher-like retinopathy following the surgical repair of a comminuted femur fracture in a previously healthy 19-year-old male without a known predisposing cause and document the course of successful recovery.

Item Metadata

Title
Ocular Fat Embolism Syndrome Following Surgical Repair of a Long Bone Fracture
Creator
Hughes, Lauren P. A.; Dragoman, Ryan M.; Stephenson, Kirk A. J.; Kirker, Andrew W.
Publisher
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Date Issued
2025-03-03
Description
Fat embolism syndrome (FES) is a rare multisystem disorder caused by the dispersion of fat emboli in the systemic circulation. FES typically occurs after orthopedic trauma and classically manifests as a triad of respiratory failure, neurologic impairment, and petechial rash. Ophthalmic involvement is uncommon in the absence of cardiac or pulmonary arteriovenous shunts and presents with diffuse retinal hemorrhages and accompanying visual disturbances. We report a case of FES and Purtscher-like retinopathy following the surgical repair of a comminuted femur fracture in a previously healthy 19-year-old male without a known predisposing cause and document the course of successful recovery.
Subject
fat embolism syndrome; Purtscher retinopathy; Purtscher-like retinopathy; orthopedic trauma
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2025-05-02
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
CC BY 4.0
DOI
10.14288/1.0448726
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/90974
Affiliation
Medicine, Faculty of; Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Department of; Radiology, Department of
Citation
Complications 2 (1): 6 (2025)
Publisher DOI
10.3390/complications2010006
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty; Researcher
Rights URI
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository
DSpace

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CC BY 4.0