Broken collar bone

[flingle]

HI All

I broke my collarbone a couple of months ago. When my doc saw the 4 week x-ray he said that it was too misaligned and needed pinning. So I went to see a surgeon who initially said if it is no better in a fortnight then he was going to operate. A fortnight later it was no better, so he said to go and get a bone scan. Another two weeks passed and then armed with the bone scan, and the letter from the scanner saying that there was no evidence of healing he said to wait a month and get another scan.

I am not sure what to think, is he stalling becaues we are in france and he is about to have a months summer holiday? should I push for the op, should I wait? Does anyone have any experience in broken collarbones? I have just qualified both as an offshore rope access worker and as an international mountain leader, both of which need my shoulder in tip top shape, so I am not able to earn at the moment either.

Cheers for any advice

[cud]

Wrong forum, JONG.





















yessssss!!!................. the rare and highly coveted jong of Phil!

Seriously, I'd go to Canada to have it fixed.

[snacktray]

i am no doc,but a friend of mine had the same situation after a mountain bike accident and the bone was fragmented. It wasnt until he had it plated that bone growth occured. After the healing was completed it was a minor procedure to remove the plate. I would also post in the gimp central forum. You might have better results.Good luck

[tuco]

Brother broke collarbone in March. His was worse than yours, but yours looks bad enough. He had a plate w/ 11 screws installed. Looking at your X-rays, if it were me, I wouldn't fuck around, have it plated and begin the healing and rehabiltion process. If those bones heal misaligned it will affect you forever!

[hutash]

It should have been well healed by now if you have it properly immobilized. So, either you are using too much, or have delayed healing which means it is time for surgery. Make sure you have no other underlying health problems, because a collar bone should heal pretty quickly and easily.

Most delayed unions are from too much activity, but even with going back to work the next day, and using it way too much, mine healed easily in six weeks. Probably would have healed better if I did use it so much, but when you run your own business taking 4-6 weeks off just isn't an option.

[Scottish_Skier]

Broke my collar bone in 2006. Healed pretty quick however - and was back skiing and running after 6 weeks. (collar bones are one of the few major bones that dont bare any weight).

If it was a simple break then it should have healed by now.
Which suggests to me that you will need an op ? (though i am not a doc).

[MadPatSki]

I've had two broken collar bone. I didn't have any surgery on any of them.

First one when I was 17 at wrestling in Gym class.

The fracture looked similar to yours based on our X-Ray. The bone was healing well and was properly aligned at first immobilisation, however at one point (while sleeping - might have been drinking?) bone became misaligned and overlapped. Doc didn't do anything and bone repaired itself misaligned and overlapping where the fracture was. As I recall (hard thing to go, it was in 1983), it took about 8 weeks before I started playing soccer.

Second fracture was 4 years later. Occurred while skiing. Fracture was at the end of the bone - maybe 1 inch from the end. Doc looked at the X-Ray and wondered if they would need to put crews to pin the bone. Doc didn't go with the ops option and bone healed. I remember putting skis 2.5 months later for an event we were organising (Doc mentioned that the bone hadn't healed yet plus I couldn't really use my arm and had some pain when I moved). Put the skis back on 4.5 months after the fracture and was basically okay. Remember skiing okay, not sure and the power in the arm and shoulder...it was back in 1987.

The first bone is still misaligned, but doesn't really bother me. I'm not doctor, but after the amount of weeks you're looking at, it should have started repairing itself. I was pretty much immobilize and tried to go very limit movement with my shoulder and arm in the first few months.

[flingle]

Wrong forum, JONG.

Fair doos, I just had a look and there are like 20 different forums here. I am sure last time I looked there were only about 3. I'll repost over in the injury forum.

Cheers

Phil

[cheese]

you've been using that!

get the surgery

I had a very similar fracture that i used too much in the healing process, healed with a big 2cm step in it, then 3 months later i picked up a box and it fractured again.
god bless the nhs i was scheduled for surgery 3 months later, with my collarbone crunching anytime i put any weight/ strain on it. lots of fun tingling sensations down my arm too.
the plate being put in was an overnight stay in the hospital but not much drama, but you need to let it heal.
did end up with an area of numbness in my upper arm after surgery and it was very uncomfotable putting any weight on top of the shoulder i.e. a rucksack. but that cleared up after the plate was taken out 18 months later.

keep the scar sunblocked too, i didnt think, and got sunburnt on the scar, which then fell off and bled, leading to a scar thats now about 1 cm wide.

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

Phil,

Speaking from recent personal experience, I say get the the surgery as soon as you can.

I snapped my collarbone on May 10th. About 9 days or so later, I got surgery to install a Ti plate from Acumed, nd it felt so good I was back on a road bike a few days post-op and not only mountain biking, but mountain bike racing about 3 weeks later.

The details of my accident, operation and the specific plate I got put in (titanium plate from Acumed with 8 screws), and recovery are detailed here:
[ame="http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=159783"]Broken Clavicle - Decided on surgery & titanium plates - Teton Gravity Research Forums[/ame] and on my blog at www.onegeartwoplanks.com (scroll down a few entries to the story "Lucky").

Feel free to PM me with any questions.

[Ripzalot]

VIBES!!! it would've healed faster if you'd had posted for vibes a couple months ago.



heal up bro!

[Mrs Roo]

I'm a physio and not a surgeon but looking at that x-ray I'd say get it fixed. You get better healing if the bone ends are aligned. If it does heal with that alignment you may find some restriction with shoulder movements when you are reaching over your head (when the collar bone rotates back). With your line of business reaching above your head is pretty important!

[//Altitude_Junkie\\]

That sucks Jong Jong, maybe wait another fortnight?....first post!

[powdork]

mine looked almost identical to yours after the break. i ignored the docs advice and went skiing, crashed and all. still the bones healed back together. all the misalignment (and more) is still there, but there is bone linking the two pieces together.
since this didn't happen for you i would get it fixed asap.

[TBS]

I echo the others...all but one of my and several friend's broken clavicles healed fairly quickly with just immobilization. The friend's that required plate/screws had one end of the bone protruding through the skin.

I wonder why your doc is not dealing with the lack of bone growth after so long.

Can you get a second opinion from another orthopaedic surgeon? Or are they all on strike? It is France...

Seriously, get some real medical attention and heal up soon

[wrinkledpants]

Broke my left one in two spots with the broken off center section turned vertically and pushing out of my skin. Doc said it'll heal. It sure did. Now I have a 3 bone deep sandwich and a shoulder shorter than the other. I should have had a second opinion. Go to someone else.

[bones get broke]

I've broken both of my collar bones at different times. The right one has been broken twice. I've healed in under 6 weeks in all of these cases so if you're not healed yet or at least well on your way, you need surgery.
If the doc's stalling, kung-fu chop him in the collar bone super hard so that he feels your pain. He will be rendered useless for surgery but what the hell, he can't be the only orthopedist in France.

Good luck and I hope you heal fast once you get things sorted out.