Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Great Site!! I shattered my left tibia, fibula, and fractured my ankle in the afternoon of 9/26/07 in a motorcycle accident. I was taken to my local hospital (and following x-rays) I was told my injury was one of the most severe they had seen and they would need to transfer me.
I was transferred to a hospital two hours south (which happens to be one of the largest/most surgeries performed hospitals in the country) for more x-rays and cat scans. They couldn’t operate do to the severe swelling and were worried about compartment syndrome. I was placed in a splint.
Around 4:00 P.M. on the 27th I had operation #1. My leg from the knee down was placed in an External Fixator.
On the morning of Oct, 1 I had operation #2. They removed the Fixator and performed the IM Nail procedure on my tibia (Nail + 4 screws).
On the afternoon of the 4th they removed the surgical dressing and my lower leg and foot were so swollen and a reddish purple color (it looked like the skin was ready to split) They casted over it and sent me home.
I went back to see my doctor two weeks later for x-rays and to have the staples removed.
When they removed my cast it felt like my foot was falling off and my leg looked dead (I almost passed-out). My doc said I needed more work, but we need the swelling to go down a little more; they were hoping another week would be long enough and scheduled operation #3.
On the morning of Oct 24th I had operation #3. They realigned the leg and installed a 9” plate and eight screws on/in my fibula as well as installing two more screws into the tibia.
I was released on the 26th with another fiberglass cast.
On the 8th of Nov. I went in for a checkup and had the cast/staples removed and x-rays. My ankle, foot, and toes had become completely frozen at this point. My doc put me in an orthopedic boot so I could take it off a couple times a day a work on loosing up my foot/ankle/toes.
On the 28th of Nov. I went in for another checkup. X-rays showed no healing and I was only able to gain a little movement in my foot. Doc wrote a script for physical therapy and wanted me to go from non weight barring to 25% with the boot on.
On the 3rd of Jan. I went in for another checkup. Still no healing. Moved the weight barring to 50% and ordered a Smith and Nephew bone stimulator.
On the 31st of Jan. another checkup. This time there is a slight sign of healing.
On the 28th of Feb. another checkup. Healing is evident. Weight barring is moved to my tolerance.
On the 24th of March I take my first steps on an un-weighted treadmill. A few hours later I took my first steps with one crutch.
On the 10th of April another checkup. Another gain in healing is evident. Doc says I can stop wearing the boot and issued an air cast.
On May 22nd another checkup. First time I was able to go to the Doc with one crutch (was still using two for any sort of distance). No additional signs of healing and the Doc is guessing I’m somewhere around 65%. He orders a CT-Scan.
On July 3rd another checkup. Still no additional healing. Doc says CT-Scan showed holes in the tibia and I had reached non-union status. He said the hardware would start to fatigue and break. Surgery is scheduled for the 9th and physical therapy is discontinued.
On the 9th of July I had operation #4. The IM Nail was removed as well as the 6 screws in the tibia. The inside of the tibia was re-reamed. A larger IM Nail and 5 screws were installed. I was placed back in my boot and weight bearing was back to 25% (back on two crutches just as I was getting used to one).
On the 25th of July another checkup. X-ray show no change/staples are removed. Weight bearing still 25%.
On the 21st of Aug. another checkup. No signs of additional healing. Weight bearing is moved to my tolerance. Starting physical therapy again.
On the 26th of Sept. I put my crutches away and start using a cain.
On the 21st of Oct. another checkup. Starting to show some additional signs of healing and the Doc says we still have a ways to go. I am released back to work. My next appointment is on the 23rd of Dec. and my Doc said he may order another CT-Scan at that time depending on how things look.
On the 15th of Nov. I put my cain away. I can now walk without a cain and have only a slight limp (it gets worse the farther I walk). My leg and knee still swell and most of my pain is in my knee. I can only climb stairs one at a time (bring my bad leg up to my good leg). I’m only able to walk at a moderate speed (because of pain in my leg and ankle) due to the higher impact one experiences when walking more briskly.
I was told the day of my accident that my leg would never be 100%, but I figure if there is a will there is a way. I’ve set my goals high and anyone reading this should too.
I’ll have been going to physical therapy for a year on the 5th of Dec. except for my 7 week hiatus due to surgery #4. I go three days a week and I’m usually there 2-1/2 hours per session. I have been using my bone stimulator since the 11th of January, so coupling that with the other exercises I do at home I spend another 2-1/2 hours a day, and all that work is starting to pay off. I also bought a bicycle in mid September (I had been riding a stationary at PT and thought I should be able to match the gearing to my ability). The last day I was able to ride was the 7th of November due to the weather turning, but in that time I was able to accumulate 623 miles. And yes I couldn’t even walk without crutches when I started; I just put fear aside and moved forward. With the cycling being low/no impact I’ve really been able to strengthen my leg, and I feel it’s been a big help to getting me to the point I’m at now.
To those of you who can barley move due to pain or get out of bed because of swelling. Don’t give up the days will get brighter. The body and a strong mind have the power to overcome almost anything.
Best regards,
Ry
*Note: I’m a 27 year old male/non smoker/good overall health.
August 17 2007 I was driving to work in my 04 vette when a woman ran a light and hit me head on. The impact of the crash shattered my Fibula in 20 pieces and my Tibea in three breaks one of them a large spiral fracture from the center to the knee.
They were not sure if they could save my leg and were talking about removing it in the trama center. I told them no way and my ortho surgeon said he would put it back together.
After 5 1/2 hours of surgery he managed to insert a 9mm nail from my knee to my ankle and he threaded the bones in place with a tricky technique.
The alignment looked good. A few weeks later he wanted me to start some PT but my bone had shifted at the spiral fracture and he stopped the PT.
I moved to North Jersey to be near NYC as there was a specialist there I began seeing. We noticed some healing in the majority of the breaks but no healing at the large spiral fracture. We waited 3 more months and he had me try some weight bearing and PT. It was at that point we notice my bone was not connected at the spiral fracture and you coulds see it move under the skin(It was Gross).
He put me in a custom made removable cast from my hip to my ankle.I also used a bone stimulator every day, It sucked. At the 8 month mark we were talking about the next surgery to fix the non union. He wanted me to wait until it was at least a year from the accident before he did a second surgery because this bone can take up to two to three years to heal for some folks.
I am a 47 year old male non smoker in great shape. I surf, snowboard, ect ect. Well I used to and plan to again. The doctors advice was too not put weight on it for the past year and that is impossible.
I started putting weight on it in the pool at the YMCA. Slowly I taught myself how to walk again. I started to put weight on it while in my air cast with my crutches and was able to walk with a cane for short distances now. I can do short walks and things without the cane around the house until I cant take the pain any longer. I found that I can go until it stops me (and the more I do the more I pay for with pain in the evening).
It has been a long road and after doing it my way a year later my spiral fracture started to grow some fibers. I do not know if it will heal enough to allow me to bear complete weight on it or not. Too all of you out there who are healing slow take it one day at a time.
This is the hardest thing I have ever had to recover from. I have had breaks, schrapnel wounds ect but this has been the most painful and the hardest to heal. Just keep working at it and find what works for you as far as helping the healing process. Being in the sun, and vitamin d has been a great help to me!! Good Luck!!!!
I trust everyone is staying strong and positive,and hopefully you are healing well,as i said earlier,i have been back to hospital,had my x-rays done,and the news is,i have to go back up christmas eve,yeah ya guessed it,more x-rays,and if i hav'nt healed as expected,a bone graft has been mentioned,i will let you all know how i get on,and what i may have to go through...
im still taking my calcium,Vitamin D,drinking gallons of milk,yoghurts...(may need my own cow soon...)and apart from that excercise,stretching and the like,cant do much more ,but wait an see.
everybody stay positive,stay strong things will get better...take care...
On October 4th, 20008, I had a serious injury while riding my bicycle. I was hit on my left side by a pick-up truck in an intersection. Among other injuries, I had a fracture of my left tibia-fibula. I had to be choppered to a trauma hospital, where the orthopedic surgeon helped put me back together with an intramedullary rod in the left tibia and a pin in my sacrum. I was transferred to a rehab hospital after about 2 weeks in the acute care hospital. I was in inpatient rehab for another 2 weeks, then sent back home (about 3 weeks ago). While in the hospital, I was non-weight bearing and had a CAM boot. Pain was pretty well-controlled (though I had plenty of discomfort, and I hate the boot). I had a follow-up with the orthopedic sugeon before I left the hospital. Thankfully, he advanced my weight bearing to 50% on the left and I am allowed to take the boot off when I am not on my feet. I go back to see him next week, when it will be just shy of 8 weeks from my injury. I am hoping to get back to work the following week (December), though I expect I'll be lugging around my wheelchair (though I can ambulate with crutches pretty well).
Anyone else dealing with sensitivity in the area of the fracture? The skin on my foot and lower leg are hypersensitive to touch. Anything I can do for this? Any thoughts on my prognosis?
Wow, what a great site! My story is as follows: July 2005, rolled an ATV on myself and got a lovely spiral fib fracture. I was 26 at the time, I'm 30 now. It was fixed with a metal plate and 8 screws. Unfortunately, I lost my health insurance after my 3 week post-op appointment so I had little medical care during my recovery. Recovery was long, but after the first 6-8 months the pain subsided to a low, but regular level. It would hurt on and off where the plate/screws were, and every once in a while I would have a "flare up" of pain that would subside for a few days.
Fast forward to this week. I had excruciating pain suddenly while walking through a store a few nights ago. The next day, I woke up and had a sort of goose-egg swelling. Made an appointment at the health center (I'm a grad student) and saw a sports doc, who ordered an xray. I was floored at what I saw. One of the screws is completely out of the plate, laying entirely the wrong direction ... hard to tell exactly where it is ... in muscle?? The scary thing is, that given the shape of the hardware, the screw had to back out, work itself around the plate, and then behind it! No wonder recovery was so darn painful! Needless to say, I'll be having the whole she-bang removed very soon. I meet with a surgeon on Tuesday to discuss. Luckily, the sports med dr said that my bone had completely healed, which it sounds like from many of you can be a real problem.
I think this is really a blessing in disguise ... I wanted to have it removed eventually anyway due to the constant low-grade pain, but my timeline (not knowing how very wrong things were inside) was to wait until 1 year from now and have it out when I was ready to sit down and write my thesis. Also, it seems that many drs are reluctant to remove metal hardware if it's not absolutely necessary, so it seems good that I have a situation that forces them into action quickly. No one will try to say I SHOULDN'T have this removed, I'm sure! I have great health insurance and the University of Washington sports med drs work on some of the best athletes in the country ... I am not an athlete, but as a very active 30-year old I am looking forward to life without painful hardware that keeps me from being active. Right now, I don't know what to expect in terms of recovery from removal surgery, but if anyone has any ideas of recovery time and how long until I can do regular stuff (gentle yoga/walk my dogs around the 'hood/work out somewhat normally) I would be grateful for the information.
Hello,
My name is Ruth. I am 26 and fractured my tibia in four places playing football, I had a rod and 6 screws put in on August 24th.
I'm starting to run on it and am wondering if the pain is normal or if maybe I should consider removing the screws.
What are your thougths on removing the screws? Are there any advantages in leaving the screws in? Is it more risky to try to take them out?
The doctor said that after six weeks the muscle should build but by that time I will be in south america, so I kind of need to know now if I need them removed.
Any help you can give would be great!
Thanks
broken fibia/tibia/ankle/and all bones in foot rt leg
Hi, I broke my tibia, fibula, ankle and almost every bone in my foot of the right leg in car acc. on 10/21/08 so it has just over one mo. for me. I had my foot on the brake and at the time of impact the front end crushed all the way into the passanger area and shattered my whole lower leg. On 11/05 I went in for my 2nd (scheduled) surgery. They were waiting for the swelling in my foot to go down before the could operate. They went in to the foot and removed all the pulverized bone pcs., and fused my foot together with 3 plates, inserted a rod thru my frac. ankle and inserted a plate to fuse the fibula ( is that the large one?) I dont know how many screws hold all this together but I do know that the metal alone cost over $13,000!!!!!! I'm experiencing alot of pain , esp. a hot burning sensation over my skin, but my dr. already took me off the oxycontin and has me on percocet 5mg! ( works like baby aspirin on this pain).Right now I'm am NWB for another 30 days and have been in a hard cast since since 11/11/08 doc say we'll see in 30 days if i can go W.B. I 'd like to know if anyone has exp. anything similar and could tell me about how long it was b4 they were up and around, and or pain free.
thanks, Monica
Last edited by axinom07; 11-22-2008 at 05:40 PM..
Reason: added info and correct spelling
Dear Ry, All I 'd like to say is that after reading everything you have been thru has given me hope because compared to all you have been thru, I feel like my situation is a piece of cake. This site is the best, and I feel so much uplifted after reading everyones stories thank you Monica
I really feel for you. I am dealing with the same type of injury. I broke my right tibia on 10-28-08. It has been about 4 weeks and It's taking forever to heal. I hope I will be able to put some weight on it at my next appt on 12-17. This has changed my life forever. But I am lucky. It could have been worse. I hope that you recover well. Keep us updated on your progress.
Real Depressed Rt Fib/Tib distal Fracture 09/02/08
My name is Eursula single mother of three need to get back to work. Its been 12 weeks and leg is still broke going crazy can only apply 20 percent weigh bearing casts hurt like heck only had surgery to place straight no rod, pins, plate or screws rod could shatter bone had bone manipulation was off by 9 millimeters now straight but still broke someone shed a little light.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Shattered Tib/Fib
Real Depressed Rt Fib/Tib distal Fracture 09/02/08
