[Two cases of cerebral infarction caused by fat embolism during orthopedic bone surgeries].

I report on two cases of cerebral infarction caused by fat embolism during the orthopedic surgeries. The first patient was a 77-year-old woman with a femur neck fracture, who developed coma after orthopedic operation. The other was a 70-year-old woman with open fractures in the femur and the fibula, who developed hemiplegia after operation. By echogram, no embolus was demonstrated in the heart, in the carotid arteries or in deep veins, also paradoxical cerebral infarction was denied in the both cases. Diffusion-weighted MR image and FLAIR MR image showing multiple hyperintense signals in the hemispheres were very useful as a diagnosing modality in acute stage. The patients gradually recovered with the intensive treatment.