DOI: 10.36347/sasjm

Pages: 177-181

Fat embolism syndrome (FES) is a multi-organ disorder with potentially serious consequences; it is commonly seen following polytrauma including several long bone fractures. The major clinical features of FES include hypoxia, pulmonary dysfunction, mental status changes, petechiae, tachycardia, fever, thrombocytopenia, and anemia. We report a dramatic and fatal case of a young 23-year-old woman that went on to develop FES six hours after early intramedullary nail fixation of femur and tibia fractures, despite early diagnosis and aggressive supportive therapy.