Avascular Necrosis: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment

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Avascular Necrosis
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Avascular Necrosis

• Avascular necrosis is a condition which appears
  when there is a loss of blood supply to the bone,
  resulting in bone death. Avascular necrosis is
  also known as aseptic necrosis, ischemic bone
  necrosis, or osteonecrosis. Avascular necrosis is
  most common in the shoulder and hip but can
  affect other joints, such as knee, wrist, ankle,
  and elbow. If avascular necrosis is left
  untreated, it can result in severe arthritis and
  collapsing of bone. 

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Causes of avascular necrosis

• The most common cause of avascular necrosis is
  loss of blood supply to the bone tissue. Alive
  tissue needs the proper flow of blood supply in
  the joint. When blood does not reach the tissue
  it dies. There are a number of factors such as a
  disease, injury, or trauma. Sometimes a fracture
  or dislocation can affect the blood supply to the
  bone. Some other causes of avascular necrosis
  are
• Blood clotting
• Sickle cell disease
• Anaemia
• Excessive use of steroids
• Excessive alcohol consumption
• Radiation therapy
• Uncontrolled diabetes
• Leukaemia
• Frequent inflammation in joints

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Symptoms

• In initial stages, there are no symptoms of
  avascular necrosis, as the disease progresses a
  patient may experience painful symptoms. Symptoms
  of avascular necrosis are 
• Constant pain in the affected bone
• Lack of movement
• Groin pain, if hip bone is affected
• Pain while walking or doing any other mild
  physical work
• Weakness
• Bruising of skin around the affected joint
• Excessive swelling
• Inflammation

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Diagnosis of avascular necrosis

• The doctor will begin the diagnosis with a
  physical examination of the affected joint and
  will ask questions such as, when did the patient
  first experienced symptoms. A doctor will also
  check your all-medical history to find out if
  avascular necrosis is related to any other
  disease present in the body. Diagnostic
  tests done to determine avascular necrosis are
• X-ray- Reveals the changes in the bone structure
  if any.
• Bone scan- A little amount of radioactive
  material is injected into your vein. The
  radioactive material makes the injured or healed
  portion visible on the imaging plate.
• Magnetic Resource Imaging (MRI) and CT scan- Show
  the detailed images of which shows the change in
  the bone.

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Treatments

• The treatment of avascular necrosis depends upon
  its cause. The goal of the treatment is to revive
  blood flow and to prevent further bone
  damage. Medication
• Cholesterol control medicine to reduce the
  excessive amount of bad cholesterol and fat in
  the patients blood. Excessive cholesterol
  hinders the proper flow of blood in the body.
• Inflammatory drugs to provide relief from the
  inflammation and pain due to avascular necrosis.
• Blood thinners and osteoporosis drugs to prevent
  blood clots and slow the progression of avascular
  necrosis.

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Treatments
Continue

• Surgical procedures 
• Joint replacement- A joint replacement surgery is
  done to replace the damaged parts of joint with
  metal or plastic.
• Bone transplant- The part of healthy bone removed
  and grafted with the affected bone this procedure
  is known as a bone transplant.

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