Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jan 16, 2021; 9(2): 476-481
Published online Jan 16, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i2.476
Postoperative complications of concomitant fat embolism syndrome, pulmonary embolism and tympanic membrane perforation after tibiofibular fracture: A case report
Jin Shao, De-Ce Kong, Xin-Hui Zheng, Tian-Ning Chen, Tie-Yi Yang
Jin Shao, De-Ce Kong, Tie-Yi Yang, Department of Orthopedics, Pudong New Area Gongli Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200135, China
Xin-Hui Zheng, Tian-Ning Chen, Graduate School, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China
Author contributions: Shao J, Kong DC, and Yang TY participated in the diagnosis and treatment of the patient, provided follow-up, and drafted and reviewed the manuscript; Kong DC, Zheng XH, and Chen TN acquired clinical data; Shao J, Kong DC, and Yang TY conducted investigations, reviewed literature, and assisted in polishing the manuscript for final publication; All of the authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by The Subject Leadership Project of Shanghai Pudong New Area, No. PWRd2016-06; and the Featured Clinical Discipline Project of Shanghai Pudong, No. PWYts2018-03.
Informed consent statement: Consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Tie-Yi Yang, MD, Chief Doctor, Director, Professor, Department of Orthopedics, Pudong New Area Gongli Hospital, School of Clinical Medicine, Shanghai University, No. 219 Miaopu Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai 200135, China. yangtieyi@163.com
Received: August 27, 2020
Peer-review started: August 27, 2020
First decision: November 3, 2020
Revised: November 9, 2020
Accepted: November 21, 2020
Article in press: November 21, 2020
Published online: January 16, 2021
Core Tip

Core Tip: Fat embolism syndrome (FES) is a rare complication after internal fixation. This case suggests that any clinical manifestations of patients should be identified after internal fixation to avoid delays in treatment. Even with a lack of verifiable diagnostic criteria for FES, it should be highly suspected for patients with sudden hypoxemia and atypical neurological symptoms. Early diagnosis and supportive treatment are still recommended.