Avascular necrosis (osteonecrosis): symptoms, treatment and more

Avascular necrosis (AVN), also called osteonecrosis, aseptic necrosis, or ischemic bone necrosis, is a condition that occurs when there is bleeding in the bone. Because bone is a living tissue that requires blood, an interruption in blood circulation causes bone death. If it doesn’t stop, this process will probably collapse.

Avascular necrosis most commonly occurs in the hip. Other common items are the shoulder, knees, shoulders and ankles.

Who gets avascular necrosis and what causes it?

Up to 20,000 people have been developed each year. Most are 20-50 years old. For healthy people, the risk of AVN is low. Most cases are due to an underlying health problem or injury. Possible causes are:

Fission or fracture of the femur. Such injury can affect bone circulation, leading to trauma-specific avascular necrosis. AVN can develop in 20% or more people who spread a hip.

Chronic corticosteroid therapy. long-term oral or intravenous use of these NSAIDs accounts for 35% of all malformed AVN cases. Although the reason for this is not fully understood, doctors suspect that these drugs may interfere with the body’s ability to break down fats, these substances accumulate in the blood vessels - making them narrower - and reduce the amount of blood in the bone.

Excessive alcohol consumption such as corticosteroids, excessive alcohol can cause fats inside the blood vessels and reduce blood flow to the bones.

Blood clots, inflammation and arterial damage. All of these can block blood flow to the bones.

Other conditions associated with unstable AVN include:

• Gaucher disease, an inherited metabolic disease in which harmful amounts of fatty matter accumulate in the organs
• Sickle cell disease
• Pancreatitis, inflammation of the pancreas
• HIV infection
• Radiation therapy or chemotherapy
• Autoimmune diseases
• Decompression sickness, a condition that occurs when the body is exposed to a sudden drop in pressure, causing gas bubbles to form in the blood.

Symptoms of avascular necrosis

In the early stages, AVN typically causes no symptoms; however, as the disease progresses, it becomes painful. At first, you may experience pain when you press the effect on the bone. Then the pain can become more severe. If the disease progresses and the bone and surrounding joint collapse, you may suffer from severe pain that interferes with your ability to use your joints. The time between early symptoms and bone collapse can range from several months to over a year.

Treatment of avascular necrosis

The goals of AVN treatment are to improve or ensure the function of the affected joint, to stop bone damage, and to reduce pain.

The best treatment depends on several factors, such as:

• your age
• Stage of the disease
• Location and amount of bone damage
• The reason for AVN

If the cause of avascular necrosis is identified, treatment includes efforts to control the underlying condition. For example, if you develop blood clots from AVN, your doctor will prescribe medications to dissolve the clots. If the inflammation of the blood vessels is responsible, your doctor may prescribe NSAIDs.

If avascular necrosis is booked early, treatment may involve the use of medications to relieve pain or limit the use of the deleterious area. If your hip, knees, or ankles are affected, crutches may be necessary to reduce weight from a damaged joint. Your doctor may also recommend mobility restrictions to help treat infected mobile patients.

While these non-surgical treatments can slow the progression of avascular necrosis, most people with the disease eventually need surgery.

Surgical options include:

Necrosis of the knee

"What does a change suitable for avascular necrosis in the medial condyle of the femur mean?"

The condyle is from the joint and the medial means inner. Avascular means non-vascular, and necrosis necrosis. Thus, this knee joint pin apparently has an area seen on the X-ray that appears to be left without blood circulation, resulting in necrosis. The reasons cannot always be shown together. Common causal links are drawn to injuries, long-term cortisone treatment, smoking, and alcoholism, but the exact cause is often left unexplained because the mechanism is not properly understood. The principle of treatment is to restore joint function as well as possible. In principle, there are the following tricks:

• bone marrow pressure equalization surgery, in which the inner layer of bone is removed and blood flow to the area is improved
• osteotomy, in which the bone is cut off and reshaped
• use of bone graft (+ vascular graft)
• prosthesis

The treatment and prognosis depend on the patient's age, general condition, the size of the lesion, and the surgeon.