broken clavicle...surgery or not?

[Clara M]

Originally Posted by bridsmath .

Yeah that should have been plenty of time.

I went just yesterday to my surgeon and he said the union looks very good and I asked him about the "displacement" or better said why did it move a little and he said it's the same as before the only thing that changed is the angle from which the x ray has been taken...
He recommended another 4 months of PT that means doing my exercises until it feels like before the accident (well he meant as normal as possible because it will never be like before that's for sure) and also I should start swimming...which I like.
I asked him about the problem with the frozen shoulder, because when I stretch out my right arm it doesn't look like a right angle, it's kinda stuck there and he said to continue with the exercises so that the muscles and the joint won't be allowed to freeze so to say..
BTW: I knew something was wrong with your username...u always signed Brad and I assumed it was the same person from the context and all....

 

[willy81]

bsbs, good luck tomorrow, man get back as soon as possible and fill us in with your condition, some initial pain for some days is normal, so nothing to worry

 

[bsbs1876]

Originally Posted by willy81 .

bsbs,

good luck tomorrow, man
get back as soon as possible and fill us in with your condition,
some initial pain for some days is normal, so nothing to worry

Thanks a lot, *****. I have been in some really annoying shoulder and back pain these past 2 days. More than usual. I must have slept on it weird. Makes me more comfortable in my decision. I will be sure to update here once I am feeling good enough.

My girlfriend says I ruined Valentines Day! I will still surprise her, one armed and all!

 

[bsbs1876]

Originally Posted by Clara M .

I went just yesterday to my surgeon and he said the union looks very good and I asked him about the "displacement" or better said why did it move a little and he said it's the same as before the only thing that changed is the angle from which the x ray has been taken...
He recommended another 4 months of PT that means doing my exercises until it feels like before the accident (well he meant as normal as possible because it will never be like before that's for sure) and also I should start swimming...which I like.
I asked him about the problem with the frozen shoulder, because when I stretch out my right arm it doesn't look like a right angle, it's kinda stuck there and he said to continue with the exercises so that the muscles and the joint won't be allowed to freeze so to say..
BTW: I knew something was wrong with your username...u always signed Brad and I assumed it was the same person from the context and all....

Hey Clara,

I think most of what you say sounds normal. I got a bit of a stiff shoulder from lack of movement and muscle atrophy when I broke mine. People who don't get surgery have more problems with this because they literally cannot move their arm at all. I was very immobile for multiple months after my fracture and then I did my own PT exercises at home. When I go in for surgery tomorrow I plan on moving my arm lightly below the waist (pendulum exercise) pretty much a few days after to prevent this from happening again. I believe that the arm and hand needs blood flow so you must move it even just a little bit and not leave it in the sling for weeks like some doctors suggest.

Hopefully you are feeling better day by day.

Brad

 

[bsbs1876]

Surgery was a success! Doc says he is very pleased and it went great. He said he used 5 normal and 5 small screws. No x ray yet but here is a pic my girlfriend took of me all hopped up on the meds for your amusement! Some pain and mostly tightness right now but my scapula immediately pushed back in place and I can feel it when I lean back in a chair already. Will update with my x ray and other details in the future. Don't worry, I'm not a burn victim. That red dye is from the antibacterial stuff they wiped on me after.

Kind regards, Brad

 

[screwed]

Originally Posted by bsbs1876 .

Surgery was a success! Doc says he is very pleased and it went great. He said he used 5 normal and 5 small screws. No x ray yet but here is a pic my girlfriend took of me all hopped up on the meds for your amusement!

Some pain and mostly tightness right now but my scapula immediately pushed back in place and I can feel it when I lean back in a chair already.

Will update with my x ray and other details in the future.

Don't worry, I'm not a burn victim. That red dye is from the antibacterial stuff they wiped on me after.


Kind regards,
Brad

Welcome back brad! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/icon14.gif[SIZE= 13px] glad to see you're well... ish. And that red dye will take a while to come off! [/SIZE]/img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif

 

[bsbs1876]

Thanks man! Typing with 1 hand sucks but the percs feel good, hahaha!

 

[willy81]

bsbs hahahaha nice photo, man, I am very pleased you did well. Of course your doctor gave you advise how to treat your situation, I would like to tell you to keep it in the sling all the time, even at night because the sling restricts you to do certain moves and also does not allow you to sleep on your affected shoulder. I did not sleep on me operated shoulder for at least 2 months. You better place a few extra pillows on your left side when sleeping so there will not be enough room to turn and sleep on your operated shoulder. This is one point to be careful. The sling also warns others around you that you are patient so they will treat you with extra care. So keep it always in the sling when you are in a public place. And be extremely careful in the bath or in other slippery grounds. My doctor the first day after the operation told me: "you are not allowed to fall over but if it happens you don't extend your arm, you better hit your head a little than to let your arm/clavicle bare all this weight" . This is another point to be careful. Don't worry about range of motion and physio so much, you better let it heal for 4 weeks first and then start. Besides in the first weeks you are not allowed to lift your arm more than 45deg and also your not allowed to lift weight heavier than 1 kg. it's good to hear that your surrounding muscles and scapula got their proper position. Personally I believe you will recover within a couple of months because your muscles hurt in the crash have already recovered since it has been already 3 years since the accident. Those muscles of mine are still a little numb. Upload the xrays when you have time

 

[bsbs1876]

Originally Posted by willy81 .

bsbs

hahahaha nice photo,
man, I am very pleased you did well.

Of course your doctor gave you advise how to treat your situation, I would like to tell you to keep it in the sling all the time, even at night because the sling restricts you to do certain moves and also does not allow you to sleep on your affected shoulder.
I did not sleep on me operated shoulder for at least 2 months. You better place a few extra pillows on your left side when sleeping so there will not be enough room to turn and sleep on your operated shoulder. This is one point to be careful.

The sling also warns others around you that you are patient so they will treat you with extra care. So keep it always in the sling when you are in a public place.
And be extremely careful in the bath or in other slippery grounds.
My doctor the first day after the operation told me: "you are not allowed to fall over but if it happens you don't extend your arm, you better hit your head a little than to let your arm/clavicle bare all this weight" .
This is another point to be careful.

Don't worry about range of motion and physio so much, you better let it heal for 4 weeks first and then start.
Besides in the first weeks you are not allowed to lift your arm more than 45deg and also your not allowed to lift weight heavier than 1 kg.

it's good to hear that your surrounding muscles and scapula got their proper position.

Personally I believe you will recover within a couple of months because your muscles hurt in the crash have already recovered since it has been already 3 years since the accident.
Those muscles of mine are still a little numb.

Upload the xrays when you have time

Hey *****,

Thanks for all your tips. I plan to keep the sling on at all times pretty much. I want to take it out for a bit once or twice a day when I can but just to swing the arm very slowly and slightly because I dont want it to lock up. Right now (day after) that ain't happening ha. I am just lying back with my laptop and taking the pain med still - my neck is the sorest part right now, I cant turn it to one side at all. Sound familiar or just me? It's mostly a reallllly tight feeling more than it is pain. Doc said this would be like this for a bit. Should I be icing it? Forgot to ask that.

By the way... I am documenting the restoration of my clavicle for others to see from an external perspective. Here is a before picture of me standing straight and tall. I will be taking an after picture maybe 6-12 months from now (or more, when completely healed). You can tell by looking at this picture how much this was bothering me. I lived like that for 3 years...





Stay strong!

Brad

 

[screwed]

Originally Posted by bsbs1876 .


Hey *****,

Thanks for all your tips. I plan to keep the sling on at all times pretty much. I want to take it out for a bit once or twice a day when I can but just to swing the arm very slowly and slightly because I dont want it to lock up. Right now (day after) that ain't happening ha. I am just lying back with my laptop and taking the pain med still - my neck is the sorest part right now, I cant turn it to one side at all. Sound familiar or just me? It's mostly a reallllly tight feeling more than it is pain. Doc said this would be like this for a bit. Should I be icing it? Forgot to ask that.

By the way... I am documenting the restoration of my clavicle for others to see from an external perspective. Here is a before picture of me standing straight and tall. I will be taking an after picture maybe 6-12 months from now (or more, when completely healed). You can tell by looking at this picture how much this was bothering me. I lived like that for 3 years...





Stay strong!

Brad

3 years? I cant even imagine. Well this is the part where you WILL start getting back to normal.
For me the sorest part was where I had the surgery, and yes, the tightness is normal. Let me guess, the way you cant turn is to your right. This is very normal, and half of the tightness is probably the dressing, I found that out when they changed it after just 1 week.
Also when you are laying down fully, with no weight on you shoulder, and a pillow for support if you need it (which you probably will) you should gently and slowly straighten your arm at the elbow and let it rest there by your side for a bit. You might of seen a physio saying that all ready. But leave it in the sling the rest of the time.
Just checking, when you say 'icing' do you mean ice packs?

 

[bsbs1876]

Hey screwed,

Yes I have a bag of frozen peas on it right now for swelling. Did you guys ice it at all?

 

[screwed]

brad:
No I didn't ice my shoulder at all. The week between the crash and the opp is the only time I got swelling, and there was no way I was going to put anything on my shoulder with bits of bone nearly coming through. And after the opp, the main problem was my hand, so that was getting all the attention it could. Speaking of which, how is your hand?

 

[willy81]

No I did not use ice at all and I think it is wrong. I think ice is good for inflammations but this is not your case. You better keep it warm to make muscles softer. Your problem is tight muscles and I believe there are several ointment that give some relief. But I wouldn't bother so much it will go away after some time, your muscles are tight because your whole shoulder muscle system was not functioning normal for the last 3 years. It can be also because of the local anesthesia called Interscalene Block (google it) all doctors perform in those surgeries. I had a similar tightness and went away after some weeks. After 2-3 weeks you will feel the first change, Calcium will start depositing in the fracture site and you will feel stronger but you still need to be cautious.

 

[bsbs1876]

Hey guys,

Quick replies as always. I'm not icing the shoulder anymore. It's too much of a pain in the ass anyway. I think these percocets are making me high. How long did you guys take them for? I absolutely needed them an hour ago as I would in pretty excruciating pain.

*****, I think you're right about the muscles causing a lot of the tightness and soreness. They have gotten used to being in the wrong spot for 3 years so now they are unfamiliar with surrounding the new, straighter clavicle.

screwed, my hand has no problems. I am actually using it to type this message as I took the sling off when sitting down (and after 2 percs, lol). I do have lots of numbness on the outer area of my shoulder though... not really below the incision like most people have reported. My numbness is more closer to the AC joint and is about the size of a baseball. I hope this goes away with time. No issues with my arm or hand though. PS *****, I actually didn't get a block. Just general anesthetic. My doctor said that he doesn't do them for this surgery. So I guess that means the numbness is from nerve damage and trauma. Oh well. The left side (operated side) of my neck is super swollen and tight.

I'm very glad to have you guys on here to talk to during this time for me! Maybe it's the drugs talking though... "I LOVE YOU MANNNNNNNnnn" hahaha.

B

 

[screwed]

AND I LOVE YO.... errr... yeah, the drugs, of corse. hehe!
[SIZE= 13px]Glad there's no problems with your hand, and the rest of your arm.[/SIZE]
[SIZE= 13px]As soon as I got to hospital on the day of the crash, they gave me lots of drugs, pills and drip (which was wonderful) I have never had any problems with taking pills before, but on this occasion I couldn't take it, they were making me very sick and I couldn't keep food down, so I gave up on the drugs after a few days.[/SIZE]
[SIZE= 13px]Since that, I only had a drip after the opp, and that was it.[/SIZE]
[SIZE= 13px]So are you home now?[/SIZE]

 

[bsbs1876]

Yep I came home later the same day.
I still haven't had a bowel movement since the surgery. I think I will need to get some sort of laxative to help with that. I don't think I can get off the pain killers yet because it hurts like hell once they wear off. I figure it's normal to take them for a few days? I am only on day 2.
Emailed my surgeon and the bandage comes off tomorrow. I will need to cover it with waterproof bandage before I shower. He says to leave it alone, not clean it or put anything on it. I am allowed to use the arm for simple light activities like a coffee cup or typing but it feels kind of awkward so I keep that to a minimum.
Overall I think things are progressing. I went for a walk with my dog today. Lots of ice on the side walks up here in Ontario, Canada so I had to be really careful. It felt good to get outside though.

 

[Clara M]

Hey Brad,
I haven't had time these last days to get online here and wish you good luck but I remembered the date of your surgery ...and actually was very curious how it went.
Very glad all went well and that you are happy with the results so far!
your "before" pic looks almost like my clavicle...ahahaa...not really but I'll take a picture of mine so you guys can see how that little sucker of a bone fragment pokes the skin sometimes...it will probably look pretty cool in summer when everybody will be asking what a monster I am but to me..it doesn't matter...the only thought I will be having is....badass!
anyway give us more updates when you feel like it and btw guys I haven't slept on my injured shoulder for almost 4 and 1/2 months ...so yeah... talking about getting back to normal....
I'll start swimming and hopefully some things will improve....

 

[bsbs1876]

Originally Posted by Clara M .

Hey Brad,
I haven't had time these last days to get online here and wish you good luck but I remembered the date of your surgery ...and actually was very curious how it went.
Very glad all went well and that you are happy with the results so far!
your "before" pic looks almost like my clavicle...ahahaa...not really but I'll take a picture of mine so you guys can see how that little sucker of a bone fragment pokes the skin sometimes...it will probably look pretty cool in summer when everybody will be asking what a monster I am but to me..it doesn't matter...the only thought I will be having is....badass!
anyway give us more updates when you feel like it and btw guys I haven't slept on my injured shoulder for almost 4 and 1/2 months ...so yeah... talking about getting back to normal....
I'll start swimming and hopefully some things will improve....

Hi Clara!

Thanks for checking in on me I doubt your shoulder looks like mine did. Mine was over 2cm shorter than the other! The important part is that you feel comfortable in your body. I felt very uncomfortable, weak and had pain.

LOL, nobody is going to think you are a monster. Most people will not even notice except you, and if anyone does it's as simple as "I broke my collarbone, I'm not the first one in the world to do so" haha. Yes, it is badass! Own it with pride, as it is a memory of something you overcame. That is how I will see my new surgical scar. The only plus side is that you won't see this popping up through my t shirt

Keep on keepin on!
Brad

 

[bsbs1876]

Chicks dig scars, right?!

 

[shomikc]

Dear all,

I had an injury to the collarbone. Road rage, hit and run. The image is shown here:

http://tinyurl.com/bnstwze

Please tell me if surgery is the only option.

If I let it heal like this then can I lead a normal life

Thanks.