Nelson, C. S. (1974). Thorax, 29, 134-137. Cardiac and pulmonary fat embolectomy for suspected fat embolus. There is no specific treatment of fat embolism, whether the embolism is predominantly cerebral, pulmonary, renal or mesenteric. A 46-year-old man had fractured his right femur for the third time in December 1971. Seventy hours later he suddenly developed the cardiovascular, respiratory, a...

Background: Fat embolism syndrome (FES) is caused by a systemic inflammatory response arising from embolized fat particles that block blood vessels and disrupt supply, particularly in the respiratory microcirculation. Despite its high morbidity mortality, FES still challenging to diagnose due versatile symptoms. Case Presentation: In this article, we describe case reports of two patients with p...

Fat embolism occurs following fractures of a long bone or arthroplasty. We investigated whether paradoxical embolisation through a venous-to-arterial circulation shunt (v-a) could lead to cerebral embolisation during elective hip or knee arthroplasty. Transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD), following the intravenous injection of microbubble contrast, identified the presence of a shunt in 41 pati...

Fat embolism syndrome is a rarely seen complication of skeletal trauma, and it is seen at a rate of 2-5% after fractures of the long bones of the lower extremities. Its classic triad-+consists of hypoxemia, petechial bleedings on the skin and neurological findings. These neurological findings are highly variable and non-specific, and they can present with lethargy, irritability, delirium, stupo...

The authors report an unusual case of a fat embolism following an isolated lumbar vertebra wedge fracture. A 66-year-old gentleman sustained a lumbar wedge fracture following a fall. During routine mobilisation some days later he collapsed suddenly and became unresponsive. Shortly after, he suffered a fatal cardiac arrest. A post-mortem was performed which attributed the cause of death to fat e...