Bone mineral loss after lower extremity trauma. 62 cases followed for 15-38 years.

62 former patients, who had been treated at our department for tibial shaft fracture (n 38) or knee ligament injury (n 24) 15-38 years earlier, were re-evaluated for post-traumatic osteopenia. 62 age- and sex-matched subjects without fracture served as controls. By means of a Lunar DEXA apparatus we measured the bone mineral density (BMD) in the total body, the hips and special regions of interest (ROI) in the lower extremities. We found a difference in the BMD between the injured and uninjured legs, most obvious in the femur condyle. Measurements of bone mineral loss early after the injury did not correlate with the present late measurements. The former fracture patients had at the time of follow-up the same BMD in the rest of their bodies as a whole, compared with controls. We conclude that post-traumatic osteopenia is still evident in the injured leg decades after the injury.