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Avascular necrosis of bone or ischemic bone necrosis
Definition
Avascular necrosis of bone or ischemic bone necrosis (AVN)
There is cellular death (necrosis) of bone due to interruption of the blood supply. There is bone collapses. If avascular necrosis involves the bones of a joint, it often leads to destruction of the joint articular surfaces.
Causes
Risk factors:
Alcoholism
Excessive steroid use
Post trauma
Caisson disease (decompression sickness)
Vascular compression
Hypertension, vasculitis
Arterial embolism and thrombosis
Damage from radiation
Sickle cell anaemia
Gaucher's Disease
Deep diving
Idiopathic (no cause is found)
Rheumatoid arthritis
Lupus
Repeated exposure to high pressures (as experienced by commercial and military divers)
Cell death and repair
The hematopoietic cells ( present in bone marrow which produces all cells in the blood like RBC,WBC etc.) are most sensitive to anoxia and are the first to die after reduction or removal of the blood supply, usually within 12 hours. Then bone cells (osteocytes, osteoclasts, osteoblasts etc.) die within 12-48 hours, and that bone marrow fat cells die within 5 days.
Symptoms of Avascular necrosis of bone or ischemic bone necrosis
Avascular necrosis usually affects people between 30 and 50 years of age
While it can affect any bone, and half of cases show multiple sites of damage, avascular necrosis primarily affects the joints at the shoulder, knee, and hip.
Commonly affects the ends (epiphysis) of long bones such as the femur (the bone extending from the knee joint to the hip joint).
Other common sites are
Humerus (the bone of the upper arm).
Knees
Shoulders
Ankles
Jaw
Homeopathic treatment for Avascular necrosis of bone or ischemic bone necrosis
Avascular necrosis is especially common in the hip joint. Total hip replacement is the treatment plan mostly.
A new, more promising treatment is hip resurfacing or metal on metal (MOM) resurfacing.
Other treatments include core decompression, where internal bone pressure is relieved by drilling a hole into the bone, and a living bone chip and an electrical device to stimulate new vascular growth are implanted; and the free vascular fibular graft (FVFG), in which a portion of the fibula, along with its blood supply, is removed and transplanted into the femoral head.
Prognosis
The amount of disability that results from avascular necrosis depends on what part of the bone is affected
Normally, bone continuously breaks down and rebuilds old bone is reabsorbed and replaced with new bone. The process keeps the skeleton strong and helps it to maintain a balance of minerals.
In the course of avascular necrosis, however, the healing process is usually ineffective and the bone tissues break down faster than the body can repair them. If left untreated, the disease progresses, the bone collapses, and the joint surface breaks down, leading to pain and arthritis.
Homeopathic treatment:
As per the underlying diagnosis of the condition, homeopathy offers the line of management. Usually if there are anatomical changes, there is only palliative help from homeopathy side.
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