Stages of Fracture

Healing
Pradeep Kumar Sharma
79
The healing of fractures is in many ways similar to that of soft tissue
wounds, except that soft tissue heals with fibrous tissue, and end result
of bone healing is mineralized mesenchymal tissue i.e. bone.

Following are the stages of healing of a fracture:-

• Stage of hematoma
• Stage of granulation tissue
• Stage of callus
• Stage of remodeling/ consolidation
• Stage of modelling
 Stage of Haematoma

• Time duration: less than 7 days

Features:-
Fracture end necrosis occurs.
Sensitization of precursor cells occurs.
 Stage of Granulation Tissue
• Time duration: Up to 2-3 weeks

Features:-
Proliferation and differentiation of daughter cells into vessels, fibroblasts,
osteoblasts etc.
The fracture is still mobile.
 Stage of Callus
• Time Duration: 4-12 weeks

Features:-
Mineralisation of granulation tissue occurs.
The callus is radiologically visible.
Fracture is clinically united and no more mobile.
 Stages of Remodelling
• Time duration: 1-2 years

Features:-
Lamellar bone formation occurs by multicellular
unit based remodeling of callus.
Outline of callus becomes dense and sharply
defined.
 Stage of Modelling
• Time duration: many years

Features:-
Modelling of endosteal and periosteal
surfaces occurs so that the fracture site
becomes indistinguishable from the parent
bone.
Thank You