broken clavicle...surgery or not?

[alienator]

Alienatorr, where did you have a plate removed from? Did it relieve any symptoms or was it just precautionary?

The plate was installed on my right radius as part of the rebuilding of my wrist. The plate was interfering with the function of my wrist/hand, and with the impaired function came pain. Once the plate and 5 screws were removed, function improved and the pain went away.

 

[willy81]

bsbs, it is a good idea to play it safe and wait for at least 12 full months before the 2nd surgery. and after a period of two months will be necessary, and at the end an xray will show if the holes have mended fully. But again, you play it safe, there is no need to start contact sports after the two months period. I would say wait 2 months with very little activity, then start an intense workout to increase your muscle strength/mass more and then after an other month you get more aggressive. I have asked my doctor's assistance about taking the plate/screws home after the removal and he accepted. Why don't they give yours? I don't want to believe that they will use it again. Well, theoretically it can be used again after a sterilization, all surgical instruments are reusable after the proper sterilization.

 

[bsbs1876]

I don't imagine they would use it again. My guess is it either has to do with the fact that my healthcare is free and I have not paid anything out of pocket (these implants are crazy expensive), or because it is a biohazard.

 

[bsbs1876]

Quote: Originally Posted by willy81 .

bsbs,
it is a good idea to play it safe and wait for at least 12 full months before the 2nd surgery.
and after a period of two months will be necessary, and at the end an xray will show if the holes have mended fully.
But again, you play it safe, there is no need to start contact sports after the two months period.
I would say wait 2 months with very little activity, then start an intense workout to increase your muscle strength/mass more and then after an other month you get more aggressive.

I have asked my doctor's assistance about taking the plate/screws home after the removal and he accepted.
Why don't they give yours? I don't want to believe that they will use it again. Well, theoretically it can be used again after a sterilization, all surgical instruments are reusable after the proper sterilization.

My doctor says I can book the surgery now if I want, but he wants me to get one more x ray before. I'm assuming this is because the hospital is very backed up for surgery time and I probably wouldn't get a date until 2 or 3 months from now anyway. I am just trying to convince myself when a good time to go in will be. More time off work and the gym is never good. It's so hard to bring myself to go in and do this when I feel pretty good, but I know it is the right idea to remove the plate because it definitely is bothersome.

I emailed my doctor and he said it is a bio-safety issue with the hospital but I can ask the nurses there.

 

[berygu]

Bsbs,
Are your shoulders perfectly symmetrical now ?

 

[willy81]

berygu, if I may ask the question from my experience, I can assure you that my both shoulders are symmetrical after the operation

 

[bsbs1876]

My shoulders are symmetrical but the bones look different because of the plate and the scar. A world of a difference compared to before I had surgery though. I had a big spike of bone jabbing out of my where it healed crooked.

 

[willy81]

berygu, if I may ask the question from my experience, I can assure you that my both shoulders are symmetrical after the operation

replace "ask" with "answer", bsbs the scar will vanish with time

 

[alienator]

bsbs the scar will vanish with time

That's a claim which you cannot support. What a scar ends up looking like depends on many things. I just took a quick peak at some of my surgical scars, and all of them are still easily visible (scar ages are 26 years old, 12 y.o., 8 y.o., and 5 y.o.). Also, plastic surgeons (the docs that specialize in things like leaving minimal scars) generally don't also do clavicle repair surgeries. If the hardware is removed, it's almost certain the doctor will make the incision for that procedure through the old scar. That can make the scar wider and may make the scar fade less. Or may do neither. There are no guarantees. Who wants scars to fade anyway? Scars are tattoos that never fade, each one a story. Besides, chicks dig scars. If someone is concerned about scarring, there are number of products that work to minimize the visibility of scars (creams with Vitamin E are one example).

 

[bsbs1876]

The scar is there for life. No doubt about that. It will change and fade with time but it will always be there. When the surgeon removes the plate he will cut out this scar and create a whole entire new one anyway which means I've no idea the result right now. It's not a big concern of mine though.

 

[willy81]

I don't care either, women like men with scars, my doctor's assistant performed a Plastic surgery type of technique when he closed the scar so it is very thin, and I believe will do the same next time. my priority is to have a strong and fully operational shoulder,

 

[bsbs1876]

Quote: Originally Posted by alienator .


That's a claim which you cannot support. What a scar ends up looking like depends on many things. I just took a quick peak at some of my surgical scars, and all of them are still easily visible (scar ages are 26 years old, 12 y.o., 8 y.o., and 5 y.o.). Also, plastic surgeons (the docs that specialize in things like leaving minimal scars) generally don't also do clavicle repair surgeries.

If the hardware is removed, it's almost certain the doctor will make the incision for that procedure through the old scar. That can make the scar wider and may make the scar fade less. Or may do neither. There are no guarantees.

Who wants scars to fade anyway? Scars are tattoos that never fade, each one a story. Besides, chicks dig scars.

If someone is concerned about scarring, there are number of products that work to minimize the visibility of scars (creams with Vitamin E are one example).

For the removal surgery the doctor does go in through the same incision line. He cuts out the entire thing and forms a new scar altogether when it is stitched back together, so the appearance doesn't necessarily worsen or get better. It is in fact an entirely new scar and has an unpredictable outcome as always.

The skill of the surgeon is by far the best way to minimize scarring. Beyond that, most creams have been proven to not do much. Especially Vitamin E (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10417589). If anything is going to help at all it is a silicone gel (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2918339/).

 

[lets see em]

Hi guys I broke my right clavicle April 27 2012 had surgery July 27 2012 by march 2013 was feeling pretty much back to normal but I kept getting pain in my left scapula now I can notice that my left scapula is way bigger and moves different then my right and now I have bad back pain anyone else have this that the scapula on the non injured side hurts but the side that got injured doesn't at all?

 

[willy81]

Hi guys I broke my right clavicle April 27 2012 had surgery July 27 2012 by march 2013 was feeling pretty much back to normal but I kept getting pain in my left scapula now I can notice that my left scapula is way bigger and moves different then my right and now I have bad back pain anyone else have this that the scapula on the non injured side hurts but the side that got injured doesn't at all?

what do you mean by "left scapula is way bigger"? scapula is bone, bones don't grow after a certain age. anyway, the problem now is not on the operated side, the right, but on the left side which might be an injury that happened when you broke your right clavicle but did not notice. It is possible, to have your rotator cuff tendons injured. For sure you need to see a doctor and have detailed test.

 

[bsbs1876]

If it's the scapula on the non-operated side, and it is occurring this late, it sounds completely unrelated to the collar bone fracture to me. See the doc though.

 

[alienator]

A fairly common injury is an AC joint separation. The AC joint is a joint between your clavicle and scapula. When such an injury happens, a prominent bump can often be seen. It'd certainly be strange though for you to have something like that happen and not feel it. The only you're going to find out what is wrong with your shoulder is to see a doctor.

 

[bsbs1876]

I've just noticed the past few days now that the weather is dropping a lot here in Canada that my shoulder aches a good bit sometimes. I am hoping this is hardware related and will not carry on with me after I get it removed. Or maybe I just need to simmer down a bit in the gym. At any rate, it's not an intense pain of anything and it comes and goes so I am just ignoring it for now. I have an appointment to see my surgeon next month when he will be taking a pre-op x ray.

 

[alienator]

I don't know that there is a correlation between hardware in place and pain with weather changes. I've got a rod and screws in one tibia that never seem to have any pain that could be correlated with weather changes. On the other hand, I've got a pin, plate, and screws in the hip on the same leg that occasionally hurts when weather changes, but it can also hurt when there's no weather change. I don't know if medicine has a definitive answer on this yet.

 

[bsbs1876]

Yeah there isn't much on it other than patients assumptions really. I think if makes sense because metal would get cold and remain cold inside you causing discomfort, but like you said there's no definitive answer. I'll just have to see the difference. I do seem to get a lot of relief from hot showers. If my plate was on a bone that has more muscle over it to pad it I would more than likely just leave it be. But since the collar bone is such a subcutaneous area, I believe this causes more issues. Fortunately this also means it is easier for the surgeon to get at the second time around. I think the soreness I'm feeling is mostly from the gym. I've been upping the weight a bit lately. I think I'll take a step back for a bit. I actually took most of the week off because things didn't really feel right.

 

[willy81]

hey, what's up guys? How are you doing? Just a few words about me. The numbness at the impact spot now has gone, it took me 16 months. Now it feels just normal. This numbness had to do with the crash and not with the surgery. The hit was very severe and the muscles, the tissue suffered, or better atrophied. It took though 16 months to recover. I still have the plate which I will have it out some time in the future. I don't take any special care about my shoulder anymore. It feels strong and I lift quite heavy. Hope you are doing OK.