Compound Skull Fracture
A fracture which occurs in conjunction with an overlying laceration which tears the epidermis and the meninges or runs through the paranasal sinuses and the middle ear structures, resulting in the outside environment being in contact with the cranial cavity is termed a compound fracture.
Compound fractures may either be clean or contaminated. Intracranial air (pneumocephalus) may occur in compound skull fractures.
The most serious complication of compound skull fractures is infection. Increased risk factors for infection include visible contamination, meningeal tear, loose bone fragments and presenting for treatment more than eight hours after initial injury.
Read more about this topic: Skull Fracture
Famous quotes containing the words compound and/or skull:
“We are all aware that speech, like chemistry, has a structure. There is a limited set of elements—vowels and consonants—and these are combined to produce words which, in turn, compound into sentences.”
—Roger Brown (b. 1925)
“The affirmative class monopolize the homage of mankind. They originate and execute all the great feats. What a force was coiled up in the skull of Napoleon!”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)