- WHAT IS BONE DEATH?
Bone Death/Avascular Necrosis of femur is the death of bony tissue of head of femur due to loss of blood supply to the head of femur which forms the “ball” component of the ball and socket joint of the hip. - WHEN TO SUSPECT AVASCULAR NECROSIS/BONE DEATH?
You might be having Bone Death if
- Unexplained pain in hip
- Painful restriction of hip movements
- Difficulty in squatting or sitting cross legged
- WHY IS BONE DEATH SO PAINFUL?
The normal hip joint is a ball and socket joint with congruent surfaces moving in all directions. Because of Avascular Necrosis, the head of the femur gets flattened and loses it’s normal sphericity. So now we have incongruent surfaces rubbing over each other and causing pain. - WHY DOES BONE DEATH OCCUR IN POST COVID PATIENTS?
It has been seen in post Covid patients in whom steroids were used in excess because steroids are known to compromise blood supply to the head of femur. This results in bone death of head of femur. - HOW CAN WE CONFIRM WHETHER IT’S BONE DEATH OR NOT?
You will need to get Xray and/or MRI done. MRI pics up very early stages of Avascular Necrosis which cannot be seen on Xray. - IS BONE DEATH TREATABLE?
In early stages, when the spherecity of head is maintained and head has not collapsed, surgery to restore blood supply, like core decompression can be done. Once the head has collapsed and the movements are restricted, hip replacement is the only option.
For more information, contact your nearest Orthopaedic surgeon or call us at 020-25883678