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I destroyed my fifth metacarpul a few weeks ago and ended needing three pins jammed through my hand a couple weeks ago to hold all the bone fragments in place. Now with one pin in particular it feels like a burning hot pitchfork is jammed through my hand. The pain was extremely intense the first week, but now comes and goes. Its a lot worse when my hand drops beloow my heart for more than 5 minutes. Has anyone ha pins and experienced similar problems? Typing with one hand blows.
No experience with pins in the 5th metacarpel but I have broke both of mine. They call it the boxer's break. Is that how you broke it? For mine they just plated them. Was your bone too broken too plate?
Hope you broke the hand you don't write with:wink:
No, it was a drunken shove from a buddy. Landed on my knuckle and it jammed my metacarpel back into the joint near the wrist and blew it up. Doc said it looked like a bomb went off in my hand and my joint is pretty much screwed if it doesn't heal right. If it doesn't they'll have to fuse the joint in a few weeks. I'm praying that doesn't happen. I am lucky I'm left handed as I broke my right hand.
I did the flying dismount off my horse into the wall breaking my 5th metacarpal (boxer's break). I too was plated. There was some concern about the pinky joint here, too. It's healed ok, but I'm probably looking at arthritis or a joint replacement way down the road.
Hand surgeon actually said mine isn't technically considered a boxer's break due to it being at the base of the metacarpel in the joint versus higher up or at the pinky joint.
I broke by 5th and 4th in almost the same way. I fell and landed right on the knuckles...blew my shit all apart too. Knuckles in the middle of the hand. However I broke my right hand and am right handed (it sucked)Quote:
Originally Posted by Castro's
How post-op are you? Are you in a hard protective cast still? I was placed in a very light plastic split after two weeks and it made the biggest difference for comfort what the pins were in. the light plastic sheath allowed my hand to swell and unswell freely. I mention this since you said when your hand is lower than your hear it hurts- mine was the same in the post op club but not in this plastic thingy.
Don't worry about the pin pain too much- worry if you see redness in a line moving up the arm. That's an infection and that's bad.
I'm currently just over two weeks post op. First week I was in a light splint with the whole thing wrapped. Last Wednesday they put me in a full cast but kept my thumb and pointer finger free. They cut a door in the cast to allow me to clean the pins twice a day. I was in terrible burning pain until last Friday when it pretty much went away. The past couple days I've had more of an aching pain that gets bad especially when my hand is down, but even when its up. Its hard to pinpoint exactly where the pain is at with the cast on, but I actually think its more around my knuckles. We've had some nasty weather the past couple days and my joints are already incredibly sore from being immobile, so I'm thinking the pain probably has something to do with that.
On a positive note I saw the doc on Wednesday and he said I'll get the cast off and pins out in two weeks! I asked if he was going to recast it and he said since it will be four weeks post op it should be pretty much healed and no cast or splint will be needed. I'm a little apprehensive about this because if I damage it again I need to have the joint fused.The docs nurse was surprised that he was taking it off so soon too. I'm hoping the doc is right, and if my hand isn't too sore and I can get a good brace perhaps I'll be skiing by the end of March?
Jammed my cast today on the ceiling of my jeep while loading some shit. Now my hand is aching where the bone was repaired. This is the first pain I've had in this area since surgery which worries me a bit.
On another note, my cast is really beginning to smell like complete ass.
Well the pins came out yesterday. That was an interesting experience. No numbing or anything. I asked the nurse if it would hurt and she said yes. Then told me that the pins will slide right out n problem. So she comes back with a regular old needle nose and grabs onto the first one and pulls. Pliers slips right off. So she really bears down and out it came. Second pin came right out, third was harder to get out than the first! Needless to say I almost passed out.
Doctor said I should stay in a cast for another two weeks, but decided my fingers were much to stiff and I needed to start PT right away. So I got by with a removable splint for the next couple weeks. The splint is off more than on.
Fingers are extremely ssore and painful, but I've done my PT 4 times today and alreadyu notice slight improvement. Both the Doc and therapist think it will take a long time to get close to normal, but I'm hoping to prove them wrong. I'm assuming that since they want me moving it that I can't do much damage to the repaired bone before it is fully healed in two weeks. I keep the splint on when moving about but leave it off at home and while at my desk.
^^ I'm thinking I'm glad I had a plate and screws put in that will stay until/if the cause pain/problems...
yea...that's the best way to get the movement back- little natural motions where there is little danger of re-injury.Quote:
Originally Posted by Castro's
It will get there.
I was wondering if anyone has had pins in there hand from surgery but ever had it poke through the skin. It happend with me so i want to the er and they removed them there but werent supposed to come out, and didnt know they were supposed to come out. So now i have a minor infection and a swollen hand. Does anyone else think this is jst a little messed up?