Fat Embolism - Complications

Complications

1. Pulmonary fat embolism. Widespread obstruction causes sudden death.
2. Systemic fat embolism. These may get lodged in capillaries of organs like brain, kidney, skin etc., causing minute hemorrhage and microinfarcts

Embolized fat travels through the venous system to the lungs and can occlude pulmonary capillaries. Fat emboli may cause cor pulmonale if adequate compensatory pulmonary vasodilation does not occur.

Circulating free fatty acids are directly toxic to pneumocytes and capillary endothelium in the lung, causing interstitial hemorrhage, edema and chemical pneumonitis.