motorcycle accident

[Heather5]

My husband was in a motorcycle accident about 2 1/2 weeks ago, where he was hit by a car who failed to yield before crossing oncoming traffic. He was taken to the trauma center, but luckily they found no broken bones or internal bleeding. They told him he had been extremely lucky and said it was a good thing he was wearing his helmet, since it had a lot of damage. He did however have a puncture wound in his leg that went down through the muscle. It required three levels of stitches. He has not been able to go back to the trauma center since then, because they're totally booked. He has a follow-up appointment next Friday (the earliest they could fit it in).

Well, here are my questions:

1. He developed some pretty nasty bruises on each of his hips a few days after the accident, and although, they're now more or less gone, he now has this hard, protruding bump over his left hip. Do you know what this could be, and is it dangerous?

2. Also, the wound on his leg seems to be healing in the surface, but we're afraid of an infection underneath, because it's itchy and he did have a little bit of puss coming out after a shower a few days ago. Should we worry about this, or just wait for the appointment next friday? The area around the wound is also numb.

Sorry about the long post, but I'm kind of worried about him. Thanks in advance for your help!

[Heather5]

Thank you so much for replying so quickly! I feel a lot better after reading your answer. I guess we'll just keep an eye on the puncture wound for now then and wait for the appointment next week...unless he experiences any of the symptoms you described. Thanks again, and enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend!

[Jeffrey S Guy, M.D., M. Sc.]

I’m glad to hear that your husband is doing well and what clearly was a serious incident.

The bump on his hip may represent a collection of blood or hematoma.  You did say that the area was heavily bruised.  A hematoma occurs like a bruise where thee is some small bleeding into the soft tissues of the thigh or hip.   After some time the hematoma can become somewhat organized and form what appears to be a bump.  

The leg wound is something to pay attention.   I don’t know the details of the puncture wound but most surgeons will irrigate a puncture wound, cut away and dead or unhealthy tissue and actually leave the wound open, ie. no stitches.  By leaving the wound open, any infection that develops in the deep portions of the wound comes to the surface, thereby reducing the likelihood of a deep or spreading infection.   The puss coming out is not always a bad thing.  We certainly would prefer that if there is something nasty that it comes out rather than stays in, and not all puss indicates an infection.   If he has fever, increased redness, increase swelling, an shinny appearance of change of the skin, the feeling of rice crispy like popping under the skin you need to seek medical attention immediately.