broken clavicle...surgery or not?
- Thread starter James Thomas
- Start date
Gosh, sharp response Doc *****. First, it's very possible that not all fractures need aligning, you know? That's why there are these people called doctors to help with that decision. There's more to making said decisions than whether or not the bone is aligned, things like range of motion, function, and etc., all things of which you in no way have any expertise. Since you completely lack the expertise to dispense medical advise, maybe you should stop dispensing medical advise and pretending to have expertise you don't have. You should also do a bit of reading on how misaligned bones can heal. Lastly, Doc *****, how do you explain the 4 pieces of my collarbone that were misaligned, that were never corrected with surgery but yet healed? Please, answer, Doc *****. The worst thing that someone can do is take medical advise from internet "experts" such as yourself. Telling someone to see a doc for medical advice is good. Telling someone that they can seek second and third opinions is good. Dispensing medical advise as you do is stupid and irresponsible.willy81 said:
See, now there's something an actual doctor would have picked up on and checked for: "Is I or is I aint' dealin' with a complete transverse fracture? Is it displaced." Dang, *****: your medical intuition failed you in your rush to warn a complete stranger, someone you've never seen--let alone examined--about the deformity their trunk would suffer, about their misaligned fracture that would never heal. Despite the volumes of orthopedic knowledge stored in your cranial vault and despite the, no doubt, thousands of fractures you've seen or on which you've consulted, there's very likely a lot fractures you've never seen, buddy. So, isn't time to stop pretending that you are some clavicle expert? Isn't time to admit you're just one of many poor sods who've had fractured clavicles, eh, Doc *****?willy81 said:
for the idiots you want to avoid there is also the Ignore List. and there is also a Swiss expression which says: "When you reply to a stupid comment you upgraded it automatically to an argument." You can't possibly let the idiots throw you out oh here. Just ignore them.bsbs1876 said:
well thats my broken clavicle. nose cased a jump awkwardly and at speed, went over the bars and fell a good 8-9 feet right onto my left upper back and shoulder and smacked the side of my head so hard i was seeing colors. brand new full face helmet saved me, ****. im also convinced all the strength training was worth it, with the force i hit with, i really feel i would have shattered that clavicle into a million little shards (ok exxagerating a little) if i didnt have that shoulder girdle mass and strength.
anyways, the hospital ortho who i dont really think understands my level of committment to riding and training says no to surgery. in fact the specific sports ortho at the hospital refused to even see me based on the non-severity of my fracture according to him (<1cm shortening? i think was what he said) . im paranoid as hell that without surgery i will heal and lose shoulder symmetry which is critical to weightlifting which is a huge part of my life and im not willing to give up the ability to make continual gains in bench press and overhead press. im in canada so its not like i can just offer to pay him but there are private clinics i will investigate. i once broke my c2 and c7 in a car wreck and spent a long time rehabbing (continuing on to this day after half a decade) and so much work in making my left and right musculature fire symmetrically and im not willing to lose that by letting my left clavicle heal in such a way that my shoulder girdle structure is negatively affected. any advice? im 2 days post injury. doc says wait 2 weeks and if hes not busy and i still want surgery he MAY be able to do it. he also says i can do my best to align it myself by pulling my shoulders back. **** that hurts and i dont see how im gonna get that lower piece to move back up. help me!!!! ive been through too much to let a broken collarbone **** up my strength training . i know i can get back to riding without too many problems with an off shoulder but lifting is a huge part of my life as well. not willing to give it up.
and i told the ortho how concerned i am but i need to speak to someone who understands training . whats my time line like? i am thinking the earlier the better for surgical intervention. i feel like the longer i wait the harder it will be to make it heal properly after getting it pinned or plated . im so frustrated. in my time in dealing with physicians i have rarely come across anyone that seems to understand how important training is to me. i cant go on day to day living without the satisfaction i get from training. having one shoulder off a couple cm's will surely **** me up when im trying to get 1.5x my bodyweight overhead . it just wont work!!!!!!
drydock, There is no way to realign a broken CB unless you have surgery. I am not committed to the sports as much as you nevertheless I had the surgery right away. In the Long Run those who had surgery are all happy, I never met someone who had the surgery and regret for his/her decision, after 1,2,3 years. on the other hand I know quite a lot of people regretted for not having the surgery earlier or at all, just read back this thread, you will find several.
What an amazing testimonial. Despite his years of experience with fractured clavicles, Doc ***** has never met anyone whose had an adverse outcome from surgery or who was regretful of their decision to have surgery. Surely, that must mean something. Oh yes it does: Doc ***** is a sham, a poseur who pretends to have more knowledge and skills than he really has. He's an irresponsible anonymous charlatan on the internet, exactly the sort of person from whom someone should seek medical advice, right? Doc *****, there is hope for you, however, but it requires that you seek treatment for that from which you suffer: the Dunning-Kruger Effect.willy81 said:
I checked all your past posts I did not find anything. but since you say that you are fractured and don't have a clean break then probably there is no displacement, the two fractured pieces are still in contact to each other but they form a small angle. I have seen Xrays of fractured ribs and as far as I know they mend in considerable shorter time than full broken ones. in my opinion you must keep your arm in the sling and be extremely careful since a clean break could happen anytime if you overload your clavicle.steven ss said:
Drydock,
Your clavicle break xray was almost the spitting image of mine..almost exactly five months ago. My break was from a high-speed auto crash, along with about twelve other broken bones in my torso. Then when you throw in some fractured vertebrae, broken knee-caps and a bum left eye due to the concussion and almost going through the windshield..well the word basket case comes to mind. However, the CB was of major concern (like your sports) because I am a competitivfe swimmer and shoulder rotation is paramount. At first I had a nice mid-bone break like yours but with no displacement. But after they got done rolling me around like a Panda Bear while they took a zillion CT, MRI, and xrays, I ended up with a 140% displacement at the break site.
The Ortho-trauma doc walks into my room spends 30 seconds with me and says, "Make an appointment with me when you get out." For this he charges me three grand. Then when I see him at his office he pulls the same **** that everybody else gets: the break is going to shorten your frame, your going to be asymmetrical, your going to end up with a non-union..mal-union, etc. But, of course for a mere $20K I can be make you whole again with a little surgery and you will be good as new! Thank god I was just too sick (fever), fighting off pnuemonia, and hurting form all the other broken bones to go through with it. Later, I found out that broken bones basically just heal themselves by fusing together in a rather complicated procedure.
So, at around 6 weeks I started back swimming in a 25yd. hot springs pool. Then at at about 9-10 weeks I was back training in the lake. I missed the Masters Nationals in LA but such is life. Sure, I have a nice little lump where the bones fused together but am not lopsided or have other deformities from it. I wrote about some of the research I did on the subject in some early postings. And, also prophetically said this is probably one of the most hotly contested subjects in medicine...which seems to have come out lately on this board. Lastly, in the end it is every individuals choice to do what he thinks is the best course of action. I cannot help but feel though, that I was being pushed in the wrong direction by a surgeon that was most likely only concerned about the money. And, feel extremely lucky that I let nature takes it course and didn't line some greedy guys pockets on my dime.
Anyways, I do not think about the collarbone much anymore..but all of the broken ribs are a different story. They still like to let me know that they are still not 100%..especially if I bend to much on them.
Well, good luck..it just takes some time that is all..
Your clavicle break xray was almost the spitting image of mine..almost exactly five months ago. My break was from a high-speed auto crash, along with about twelve other broken bones in my torso. Then when you throw in some fractured vertebrae, broken knee-caps and a bum left eye due to the concussion and almost going through the windshield..well the word basket case comes to mind. However, the CB was of major concern (like your sports) because I am a competitivfe swimmer and shoulder rotation is paramount. At first I had a nice mid-bone break like yours but with no displacement. But after they got done rolling me around like a Panda Bear while they took a zillion CT, MRI, and xrays, I ended up with a 140% displacement at the break site.
The Ortho-trauma doc walks into my room spends 30 seconds with me and says, "Make an appointment with me when you get out." For this he charges me three grand. Then when I see him at his office he pulls the same **** that everybody else gets: the break is going to shorten your frame, your going to be asymmetrical, your going to end up with a non-union..mal-union, etc. But, of course for a mere $20K I can be make you whole again with a little surgery and you will be good as new! Thank god I was just too sick (fever), fighting off pnuemonia, and hurting form all the other broken bones to go through with it. Later, I found out that broken bones basically just heal themselves by fusing together in a rather complicated procedure.
So, at around 6 weeks I started back swimming in a 25yd. hot springs pool. Then at at about 9-10 weeks I was back training in the lake. I missed the Masters Nationals in LA but such is life. Sure, I have a nice little lump where the bones fused together but am not lopsided or have other deformities from it. I wrote about some of the research I did on the subject in some early postings. And, also prophetically said this is probably one of the most hotly contested subjects in medicine...which seems to have come out lately on this board. Lastly, in the end it is every individuals choice to do what he thinks is the best course of action. I cannot help but feel though, that I was being pushed in the wrong direction by a surgeon that was most likely only concerned about the money. And, feel extremely lucky that I let nature takes it course and didn't line some greedy guys pockets on my dime.
Anyways, I do not think about the collarbone much anymore..but all of the broken ribs are a different story. They still like to let me know that they are still not 100%..especially if I bend to much on them.
Well, good luck..it just takes some time that is all..
Similar threads
