Delayed fracture healing

What it means

A delay in healing of a fracture past the expected duration.

Initially, after injury a hematoma forms and this is followed by inflammatory cells arriving at the fracture site to debride the wound. During the soft callus phase of healing a collar of bone forms at the periosteum adjacent to the fractured bone, and cells in the periosteum proliferate and differentiate into chondrocytes that form cartilage that bridges the fracture gap. During the hard callus phase, the cartilage is replaced by bone through endochondral ossification, possibly by transformation of some of the chondrocytes into osteoblasts. Finally, through remodeling, newly formed bone is restored to its pre-injured state. Depending on the site of the fracture, healing usually takes from 3 to 12 weeks in healthy adults.

Rare diseases that can present with this1

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category