There's a report this morning that Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Governor of California, broke his leg while skiing in Sun Valley. I've read the report, and it doesn't make sense.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger broke his leg while skiing with his family Saturday morning in Sun Valley, Idaho, a spokesman said.
Schwarzenegger, 59, was taken to a hospital for X-rays and was discharged with a fracture to his right femur, said Adam Mendelsohn, the governor's Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications.
He will have surgery to repair the bone when he returns to Los Angeles, Mendelsohn said. The governor remained at his Sun Valley home Saturday night and still planned to spend Christmas there.
What's wrong? Well, ordinarily a femur fracture is not the kind of break you can go home with and have surgery at a more convenient time. Almost always the patient is admitted to the hospital, or transferred to a preferred hospital directly, and surgery is performed expediently rather than on a delayed basis. There are risks of blood loss, compartment syndrome, and thrombosis (blood clots) that would be elevated by waiting. In addition, the surgery is more difficult when delayed by more than 24-36 hours.
Is this a femur fracture then? Possibly, but it would be a very strange femur fracture. The only common type of break that could be treated in this fashion would be a greater trochanter fracture, but those can often be treated without surgery. The other possibility is that the report is wrong on the fracture site. Perhaps it's a fibula (near the ankle) and not a femur (mid-thigh).
(Update at Sounds a Little Like a Real Femur Fracture)
