Thread: The Broken Bone/Xray Thread

After two separate accidents over the last year, I've been paying attention more to people's xrays that they've posted here and on other sites. It was interesting to me how different doctors fixate what seem to be very similar injuries differently. I know that small differences can have a large effect on the treatment, but I also think that there are differences in treatments in identical injuries, probably caused by how conservative the surgeon is, or maybe differences in patient circumstances.

Anyway, if you've got an xray of your hardware, post it up with a description of what broke and timing of being non-weight bearing or any other details.

I'll start. Here's my right leg:


April 2008 - Broke my distal tib/fib after hitting a tree at the end of the day skiing. Went into surgery that night and had 22 screws and 2 plates installed. Tibia was broken into 8 pieces and fibula into 2. After 3 months, I had a bone graft taken from my hip and placed into my tibia where it didn't fill in. Non-weight bearing for 5 months. Ski boot rubbed on hardware too much and had the hardware removed in March of 2009. Fully recovered and had no lasting effects after hardware removal.


June 2009 - Broke my Tibia and Tibial plateau with an avulsion of my ACL. I was on a skateboard and caught my toe on something that twisted and pulled my leg. Had surgery the next morning and had 24 screws and 2 plates installed. My surgeon said it was completely seperate from my first break. The plateau was in poor shape and required cadaver bone to piece back together. This xray was taken a few days after surgery with my leg in a brace and the staples still in my leg. Non-weight bearing for 3 months, and leg was in a brace that kept it straight for 4 weeks after surgery. Started aquatherapy after 4 weeks to start to regain ROM. As of today, I can walk without too much pain and am working on strengthening my knee as much as possible before ski season.

Crushed tibial plateau with a couple displaced chunks.
9 screws a plate and some cadaver bone, some nerve damage.
9 weeks non weight bearing, 3 weeks partial weight bearing (pool only)
Can't lock my knee out straight or bend it to my butt.
Can bear weight in 2.5 weeks.

Tib-fib spiral on February 28th. In surgery at Tahoe-Forest 3.5 hours later.

Partial weight bearing at 12 or so weeks. Full weight bearing around 16.

Right now it's sore when I take my first couple of steps out of bed in the morning. I also have a "claw toe" condition that I need to get taken care of--tendon related. However, I don't have insurance and it may take me a few weeks/months to get it. Suffice to say the fucking health insurance debate is a non-starter with me.

Broke my femur Dec. 12 2007



You can't see the two screws because you're looking straight at them.

The implant is fine and the bone heeled well.... only my surgeon didn't line up my leg straight. So now I have a tweeky hip with about 30 degrees of inward rotation. This will be fun as I get older.

Broke my Tib and Fib on 23 July on the slopes in NZ. I knew it had broken while I was still rag dolling down the hill ... worst feeling ever!! ... you would all know.





Because the went in and nailed it I only had a backslab cast on for 2 weeks. Was then on non-weight bearing for 6 weeks post op. Had 1 week of partial weight bearing and have now been up and walking for 3 weeks. Moving slowly though. Still fairly uncomfortable walking, minor pain, but going well. I find walking in the pool is great as I am able to walk more fluently. Also been riding the exercise bike. The biggest thing bothering me at the moment is my knee, as they had to go in through the knee to insert the nail.

Interesting thread! Broke my left femur in a skiing accident back in early April, like this:



Had the usual rod & screws put in to hold it together 24 hours later, like this:


and



Was on crutches for what felt like forever, allowed to put my toes on the ground after about two months, partial weight-bearing after 3, and then full weight after 3 and 1/2 months.

Now at 6 and 1/2 months I can walk pretty straight, starting to build muscle mass back up, and killing it with regular 1:1 pilates sessions which have been monumentally succesful at helping me get things back together.

No skiing this winter though - rotational movements on the leg still hurt, and I think it'd be too ealry to head back up the mtn this side of next spring... but we'll see

Originally Posted by AustSnow

I knew it had broken while I was still rag dolling down the hill ... worst feeling ever!! ... you would all know.

Yep. Maybe the worst thing I've ever felt in my life. Physically, for sure. Pretty shitty emotionally too, although it was probably even worse later. It's still shitty on that front.

Originally Posted by SCUTSKI

Yep. Maybe the worst thing I've ever felt in my life. Physically, for sure. Pretty shitty emotionally too, although it was probably even worse later. It's still shitty on that front.

I had a buddy who broke his right tib/fib practicing for a hare scramble on a dirt bike. he was alone and pretty far back in the woods. He had to start his bike up by jumping from his left leg while holding his bike multiple times until it started, then get on the bike and ride it out to the highway. This entailed log crossings and other obstacles. He crashed a few more times on the way out and had to restart it multiple times. When he got to the highway, his right leg basically was flapping in the wind on the way to the hospital. The car behind him followed him to the hospital and the lady in that car caught him when he came to a stop. That loss of control of one of your limbs is gnarly. After breaking my leg a few times now, it makes my stomach turn thinking about it.

Originally Posted by Lawless

I had a buddy who broke his right tib/fib practicing for a hare scramble on a dirt bike. he was alone and pretty far back in the woods. He had to start his bike up by jumping from his left leg while holding his bike multiple times until it started, then get on the bike and ride it out to the highway. This entailed log crossings and other obstacles. He crashed a few more times on the way out and had to restart it multiple times. When he got to the highway, his right leg basically was flapping in the wind on the way to the hospital. The car behind him followed him to the hospital and the lady in that car caught him when he came to a stop. That loss of control of one of your limbs is gnarly. After breaking my leg a few times now, it makes my stomach turn thinking about it.

Ouch! Two weeks ago I broke my tib/fib mtn biking. I did a simple manual off a drop, got too far back and tried to bail from the bike, but initially my foot got stuck clipped in. When my foot clipped out, I put it down to catch myself from falling backwards, but all of my weight came down on the leg with my butt about 6 inches off the ground. It was a slow motion, twisting affair that makes me sick just thinking about.

Anyway, my buddy had to drag me back to the truck with my foot dangling at a 90 degree angle. After the 1st couple of bumps, I probably went in to shock and was laughing at the absurdity of the situation by the time I got into the truck.

The surgeon went in and screwed it all back together, but apparently the fibia bone split all the way up, so I will be another 6 weeks with no weight bearing what so ever.

I wish I had the xrays, but my surgeon spent all of 2 mins, tops, talking to me after the surgery. I can't blame the guy, but it would be nice to know a little bit more about the situation. I have an appointment for mid November to see where its at and I'm hoping to be walking again by December.

Originally Posted by powder11

Ouch! Two weeks ago I broke my tib/fib mtn biking. I did a simple manual off a drop, got too far back and tried to bail from the bike, but initially my foot got stuck clipped in. When my foot clipped out, I put it down to catch myself from falling backwards, but all of my weight came down on the leg with my butt about 6 inches off the ground. It was a slow motion, twisting affair that makes me sick just thinking about.

Anyway, my buddy had to drag me back to the truck with my foot dangling at a 90 degree angle. After the 1st couple of bumps, I probably went in to shock and was laughing at the absurdity of the situation by the time I got into the truck.

The surgeon went in and screwed it all back together, but apparently the fibia bone split all the way up, so I will be another 6 weeks with no weight bearing what so ever.

I wish I had the xrays, but my surgeon spent all of 2 mins, tops, talking to me after the surgery. I can't blame the guy, but it would be nice to know a little bit more about the situation. I have an appointment for mid November to see where its at and I'm hoping to be walking again by December.

Good luck brother. I know the "floppy" feeling. (That could be taken so many ways... )

When my brother asked the patroller at Squaw what I looked like when he found me, he said, "I've never seen somebody so pretzeled up who wasn't dead."

Lawless, your buddy has sack. I probably would've died.

That sounds painful and nasty. I knew my knee was fucked before I hit the ground, after 10 minutes the pain went away, tried to weight it and my leg went sideways, not pleasant.

I've been "walking" for a while now, still no thigh muscle to speak of, calf is doing alright.

Love the carnage. You guys have me beat but I'll throw in my broken middle toe for good measures

Looks like there is a fair few rods and screws around the place hey ...

Skutski - know exactly what you mean on the emotional front. As soon as it happened I was down ... big time. Didnt even know the full extent and rehab needed at that time. The 2 months of sitting on my arse made things even worse ... couldnt even go in to work. Just spent the days on the computer ... numbs your mind! Things are getting better now. Hope all is improving for you mate.

I had my final visit with my specialist last week. Still looks pretty broken on the X-Ray ... but all healing normally aparantly. He advised me that I should get the rod removed before doing any 'serious' skiiing or other 'high risk' activities. Anyone else been given the same advice??? I have heard it can be pretty bad if I had another tumble where the leg should have broken but didnt as the rod was in there.

Best wishes to all ... cheers

Harsh break lawless! Makes my tib/fib break look like nothing. Mine was just like AustSnow's. Boot top break, 1 rod, 4 pins. I broke it by sliding into a wooden post at A-basin after getting hit by another skier early season. I had to get the two pins in the ankle removed because they hurt so bad in my ski boot. Four years later there's still a bump on the bone where the break was which causes extra shin bang. Other than that I've made a full recovery.

Brosia - good to hear of your full recovery. So you only had the bottom screws removed??? Did you get the entire rod removed at any time??

Originally Posted by AustSnow

Brosia - good to hear of your full recovery. So you only had the bottom screws removed??? Did you get the entire rod removed at any time??

I've been going back and forth on this.

The ortho that I'll be seeing next week (head of orthopedics at Kaiser Roseville/Sacramento, CA), doesn't pull rods out unless they're really causing problems. Apparently he's a skier/mountaineer-type too. I haven't spoken with him in person yet (just relayed through my mom who is an RN who works with him), so I'll report back.

The guy I was seeing up until August in San Francisco (gap in health insurance... thanks fucked up American health care system!) was inclined not to pull it either. He basically said, "Unless you raced motocross or something, I wouldn't pull it."

Both orthos mentioned that there is a fairly high risk of complications (i.e. bone infection, which can be life threatening in worst cases). And your patellar tendon (I think that's what I'm feeling) will be tender again, sometimes for a long time.

But then, there's the comments on Particle's femur rod removal thread in here that makes me think twice about it. Read that thread. A buddy of mine from grad school had his pulled two years after it was put in. He said it was quick and easy. And he was back distance running in a month. So I'm torn.

Bottom Line: I *think* I'm going to get mine removed, but probably not for at least another 18 months or longer. The screws are coming out soon though, for sure.

is it normal for my foot to get swollen/red if I sit for awhile?

no, swelling after a traumatic injury is not normal.

I have a seperated shoulder right now due to an intense Ultimate Frisbee tournament a few weeks ago. Thankfully it should be fixed just in time to ski.

I badly sprained my ankle last winter- thought I broke it. The x-ray showed some chipped bones that were in the tendons that were from another "sprain" about 16-17 years ago.

a doctor bud of mine who comes from a family of doctors claims that orthapedic surgery is in fact just good carpentry BUT you want a guy who is anal about getting it right

While lacking in total hardware compared to the others, I present my discectomy with fusion, c6-c7. Doc slices you open just above the clavicle, pushes the carotid artery in one direction and the trachea the other, removes the disc and replaces with cadaver bone. The plate and screws hold everything together. Six weeks for the bone to adhere and I was good to go

Fuckers didnt give me the xrays. But this is what they did to fix my smashed wrist. Really quite an annoying contraption...got snagged on everything.
The worst part was taking it out. They unscrewed the 4 screws in my arm witout any anaesthesia or painkillers. Weird feeling.

gnarnia!

8990

I think we need img's of ZBO's spiral fracture in here for sure - Gnarl!!!

this is a cell grab of my distal tibula fracture from a Spain trip (pun intended)

had surgery after they casted it in Spain back in the states 10 days after the fact
10 screws and one plate
6 weeks non weight bearing
was skiing after a necessary bootfitting in the 8th week
Hardware is still in place and doing a good job of letting me know when the next system is moving in
May have it removed if it ever becomes a real issue