Fracture Surgery

Fracture surgery puts broken bone ends back in position and holds them with metal implants such as plates, screws, nails or an external frame until the bone heals. Surgeons call it reduction and fixation.

It allows early movement and restores alignment where a cast cannot. The metal only holds the bone; healing still depends on blood supply, stability, nutrition and not smoking.

What Fracture Surgery involves

After X-rays and often a CT scan of fractures that enter a joint, the limb is positioned on a traction or radiolucent table. In open reduction, the surgeon exposes the fracture through a planned incision, cleans out clot, fits the fragments together like a puzzle, holds them with clamps and temporary wires, then applies a contoured locking plate and screws. In closed nailing of the femur or tibia, the fracture is aligned by traction under X-ray, a guide wire is passed down the hollow centre of the bone from a small cut at the hip or knee, the canal is reamed and a titanium nail is inserted and locked with cross screws. Open, contaminated fractures are washed out thoroughly and may be held in an external fixator first.

Who is a good candidate for Fracture Surgery?

Surgery is chosen when a fracture is displaced, unstable, enters a joint surface or breaks the skin, or when a cast would mean unacceptable stiffness or time in bed.

• Displaced fractures of the forearm, ankle, hip, femur or tibia
• Fractures through a joint surface with a step of more than about 2 mm
• Open fractures and fractures with nerve or vessel injury
• Multiple injuries, where fixing long bones early helps breathing and nursing care

It is usually not the right choice if:

• Stable, undisplaced fractures that heal well in a cast or brace
• Most collarbone, rib and toe fractures
• Skin that is too swollen or blistered; surgery waits until it settles
• Very frail patients in whom anaesthetic risk outweighs benefit, a decision made case by case

Technique options

• Plate and screws: For fractures near or in joints and for forearm bones, giving precise alignment.
• Intramedullary nail: For femur, tibia and humerus shaft fractures; allows early weight bearing.
• External fixator: Temporary or definitive hold for open fractures and badly swollen limbs.
• Wires and tension band: For small fragments such as the kneecap, olecranon and children's fractures.
• Partial or total joint replacement: For displaced hip fractures at the femoral neck in older people.

What happens during your treatment

Operations range from 45 minutes for an ankle to 3 hours or more for complex joint fractures, under general or spinal anaesthetic, often with a nerve block. Hospital stay is 1 to 5 nights. Expect swelling, a splint or bandage, antibiotics around surgery and blood thinning injections for leg fractures.

Preparing for your trip

Plan for Not usually a travel procedure; see FAQ in Istanbul. Your surgeon reviews photographs and your medical history before you book, and you meet in person the day before surgery for examination, marking and consent with a professional interpreter.

• Stop smoking and nicotine at least four weeks before and after surgery; it is the single biggest avoidable cause of wound problems
• Tell the team about every medicine and supplement you take; blood thinners, some herbal products and hormone treatment may need to be paused on your doctor's advice
• Arrange for someone to travel with you or to be reachable, and keep the first days at home free of work and lifting
• Book a changeable return flight; your surgeon confirms when you are fit to fly

Recovery and results

Bone takes 6 to 12 weeks to unite in the arm and 3 to 6 months in the leg. Joint movement starts early. Weight bearing depends on the fixation: often immediate after nailing, delayed 6 to 8 weeks after joint fractures. X-rays are repeated at about 2, 6 and 12 weeks. Implants usually stay in for life unless they cause trouble.

• Back to everyday activity: 6 to 12 weeks
• When results show: Bone union in 6 weeks to 6 months
• How long they last: Permanent once healed

Safety, risks and revision policy

Risks depend heavily on the injury itself, the soft tissues and your health.

• Infection, much more likely after open fractures
• Delayed union or non-union, especially in smokers and people with diabetes
• Malunion with residual angulation or shortening
• Stiffness and post traumatic arthritis after joint fractures
• Nerve or vessel injury
• Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism
• Prominent metalwork needing removal
• Compartment syndrome in the first days after leg or forearm fractures

Every written proposal arranged through Clinic-Y states what the clinic covers if a correction is needed. Ask for it before you book, not after.

Cost of Fracture Surgery in Türkiye

Clinic-Y does not publish a single price for Fracture Surgery, because the honest figure depends on your case. What moves it:

• Type and number of implants
• Complexity and duration of surgery, including staged procedures
• Length of hospital and intensive care stay
• CT scanning and repeat X-rays
• Need for bone graft

Send your photographs or reports and you receive written, all-inclusive proposals from suitable teams, side by side. Reviewing your case is free.

Frequently Asked Questions