Fibular Fracture

[bbpiano1]

So an MVA came in and the girl had a fracture tibia which we put a rod through. The fibula was also fractured (shattered?) and there were about 4 little pieces of bone at the fracture site. We didn't do anything about them so I expect they'll heal. But, how exactly does the bone align itself because I would assume the periosteum is no longer linear near the fracture site???

 

[doogoshly]

i'd guess it's bc the tibia is actually used for weight bearing and will need more help to maintain alignment during healing.

 

[skiz knot]

So an MVA came in and the girl had a fracture tibia which we put a rod through. The fibula was also fractured (shattered?) and there were about 4 little pieces of bone at the fracture site. We didn't do anything about them so I expect they'll heal. But, how exactly does the bone align itself because I would assume the periosteum is no longer linear near the fracture site???

The periosteum does not need to be "linear" or intact for a bone to heal. A grossly simplistic explanation is that the fragments of bone need just not to be devitalized and they will "heal" (assuming biology of the patient is good, relatively immobilized bone, not overly distracted etc...). There is usually a soft tissue envelope surrounding tissue that would prevent bone from just growing everywhere and Wolff's Law would dictate that bone grows where it is needed.