broken 1st and 5th metacarpi. see a specialist??

[powdork]

took a bad fall today. broke my hand in two spots. doc at the urgent care place said i needed a specialist, which i cannot afford (plus tomorrow's gonna be a powder day). will duct tape work instead?

[powdork]

and something felt wrong about the splint, so i took it off and damned if it doesn't match my right hand perfectly. another reason i don't really trust doc at the urgent care center.

[auvgeek]

Maybe it's just the climber in me, but don't mess around with your hand or fingers. Get that shit taken care of.

No idea what's wrong with your splint. Maybe he's an idiot, which is even more reason to get it checked by someone who knows what he/she's doing.

[bendtheski]

I'm no expert, but I did stay at a holiday inn suites last night.

That looks like something that's going to require hardware.

I'd at least start with an ortho. The ortho group I went to for my knee has specialists in several areas including hands. Of course my insurance company required me to go to my primary care physician (waste of time and money) first to get a script for the ortho.

If you're going to be paying for all of this out of pocket (no insurance) then I'd cut out the middle-man and look for either a hand specialist, or an ortho group that includes a hand specialist.

Sorry man, heal up quick!

[Crass3000]

I've broken metacarples before and some didn't set right even with a cast. Had to have them rebroken and plated. Get them plated if you can. They seem to be in decent placement but by now you're realizing how much you miss using your hands. By the time they heal I would bet they won't be in such decent placement cause it's hard not to use your hands. If you're more worried about a powder day than what's gonna happen when you crash and your bones get more displaced (possibly damaging more stuff) I don't see this working out for you. I would be talking to a hand surgeon. If you can't afford it is there any way you can get medical assistance?

Even with a great hand surgeon, my finger isn't quite straight and causes problems. It's been about 10 years and it still bugs me a bit.

[El Chupacabra]

Mrs. C. is an occupational therapist, former hand specialist. Sending PM now with recommendations for hand surgeons.

[powdork]

I've broken metacarples before and some didn't set right even with a cast. Had to have them rebroken and plated. Get them plated if you can. They seem to be in decent placement but by now you're realizing how much you miss using your hands.

no shit! taking my compression base layer off was next to impossible, and getting over the hand was just no fun at all. i was able to refashion the splint into a more left hand friendly shape (soft metal) but adding a spot for my pinky finger with duct tape was the suck.

Even with a great hand surgeon, my finger isn't quite straight and causes problems. It's been about 10 years and it still bugs me a bit.

and therein lies the rub.

[auvgeek]

Mrs. C. is an occupational therapist, former hand specialist.

These are worth their weight in gold. There's a website for looking up CHTs. (Ah, here it is: http://www.htcc.org/locate/index.cfm) Find one near you after the bone heals (surgery or no surgery).

[slowk]

For accuracy's sake it's a 2nd metacarpal fracture not a 1st. We would fix that even in Canada.

[Crass3000]

Even with a great hand surgeon, my finger isn't quite straight and causes problems. It's been about 10 years and it still bugs me a bit.

and therein lies the rub.

Keep in mind that a big reason it didn't turn out the greatest is because I didn't have the money to get it fixed right so they just threw a cast on it and the bone healed such that one piece was on top of the other so I had a mutant looking pinky knuckle. Then I had a hand surgeon fix it but by then it was a lot harder for them to do a good job. They had to rebreak the 5th metacarple, take extra bone from my wrist, and then plate it with the extra wrist bone added in much like they would fuse a bone in your back.

For accuracy's sake it's a 2nd metacarpal fracture not a 1st. We would fix that even in Canada.

How many months would you have to wait for the fix in Canada?

[stuckathuntermtn]

Do you still have full range of motion in your hand?

When I was 15 I did a number on my hand (the old self-inflicted thing). Doc had to consult over the phone, but I was fine. Never had a full cast, just a splint. Can't even see the bump anymore.

YMMV

[Vinman]

Don't be stupid, those fractures look to be spiral, those will not heal easily and would probably need fixation.

[jfost]

Do you still have full range of motion in your hand?

When I was 15 I did a number on my hand (the old self-inflicted thing). Doc had to consult over the phone, but I was fine. Never had a full cast, just a splint. Can't even see the bump anymore.

YMMV

you masturbated SO furiously that you needed a hand specialist?!?

Kudos, I guess!?!

[Ted Striker]

I broke one of those bones once (the pinky side). The alignment was worse so the ER Dr. snapped it back into place -not fun- and he advised me to see a specialist. Since you've got two...

[powdork]

Don't be stupid, those fractures look to be spiral, those will not heal easily and would probably need fixation.

he did mention the #2 metacarpi was spiral, but i'm drinking milk now so i should be all good.

[Vinman]

Spiral MC fractures generally get surgery, don't screw around with it this. Your 2nd MC looks angulated as well. Spiral + angulated = no heal so good.

[stuckathuntermtn]

you masturbated SO furiously that you needed a hand specialist?!?

Kudos, I guess!?!

It was over 10 years ago, but after hitting the wall, I guess I couldn't masturbate furiously, since it was my right hand.
On a related note, one of the first doctors I saw (we had kick ass insurance) was a plastic surgeon. Apparently, since hands and the like are so complicated, hands and whatnot fall within their realm of specialization. Yes, I asked for boobs. I mean, shit, I was 15 and I'd still do that at 27!

[bendtheski]

The candor and honesty of the TGR forums is truly something to behold!

Sent from my DROID X2 using TGR Forums

[45hill]

If you don't get it fixed properly it will continue to break. Did the same thing last year before Christmas and had to have screws put in my 5th metacarpal. 25k. See if you can get CPMS if you don't have insurance.

[powdork]

ok so here's the update after 17 days. both bones seem to be healing. but prolly not well. i have been through extensive skihab, but no treatment. been wearing a soft cast that i change whenever i change clothes. i have slomobility in all fingers but can't make a fist with them. this seems to be due at least partially to the center knuckle joints on the fingers (especially the 2 that didn't break (ligament damage?)). The hand is obviously not completely healed and spends most of the time wrapped up. Anyway, i guess the main point is things are going as well as can be expected given the complete lack of treatment.
I tied a shoestring today. It took 5 tries, i couldn't do it in public, and it wasn't tight but each day gets better.

[Crass3000]

ok so here's the update after 17 days. both bones seem to be healing. but prolly not well. i have been through extensive skihab, but no treatment. been wearing a soft cast that i change whenever i change clothes. i have slomobility in all fingers but can't make a fist with them. this seems to be due at least partially to the center knuckle joints on the fingers (especially the 2 that didn't break (ligament damage?)). The hand is obviously not completely healed and spends most of the time wrapped up. Anyway, i guess the main point is things are going as well as can be expected given the complete lack of treatment.
I tied a shoestring today. It took 5 tries, i couldn't do it in public, and it wasn't tight but each day gets better.

This sounds bad and I don't see this turning out well. Wish you the best of luck though. Hopefully you don't end up with mutant knuckle hands that need to be rebroke. Hopefully you don't land hard on your hand.

Note: if they have to be rebroke, they will heal worse and they will likely have to take bone grafts from other parts of your body and try to fuse the two parts of your metacarple together. Really wish you would try to find financial help. This worked out bad for me and your situation is worse. Just trying to be helpful and not negative. What you are going through now has to suck. Once things are plated life is way less painful. You won't be able to ski unless you want to risk more surgery but your hands will work better for the rest of your life. Your life is a long time. I like to learn from other peoples mistakes and this is your chance to learn from mine..

[Vinman]

ok so here's the update after 17 days. both bones seem to be healing. but prolly not well. i have been through extensive skihab, but no treatment. been wearing a soft cast that i change whenever i change clothes. i have slomobility in all fingers but can't make a fist with them. this seems to be due at least partially to the center knuckle joints on the fingers (especially the 2 that didn't break (ligament damage?)). The hand is obviously not completely healed and spends most of the time wrapped up. Anyway, i guess the main point is things are going as well as can be expected given the complete lack of treatment.
I tied a shoestring today. It took 5 tries, i couldn't do it in public, and it wasn't tight but each day gets better.

You are making a mistake here. This is to going to heal well and will likely ba a big problem down the road sometime.....but good luck.

[powdork]

rereading my last post i can see why i was misunderstood. it prolly won't change what you said but my main point was i think things are going well. every day gets better. when i said things weren't healing well i meant not everything seems to be straight, but they seem to be healing well and quickly.
there are some irregularities.
1. my index knuckle doesn't appear to be as far out the hand as before and as compared to the other hand.
2. there is an obvious bump/mound where the bone is out of place on top of the 2nd metacarpal. it's noticeable when you point it out, but otherwise not
3. there is a v shaped gap between the third and fourth fingers starting at the knuckle and getting slightly wider toward the fingertips. not sure if this is ligament related or just the new shape of my hand
4. the pinky rotates/curl under the fourth finger more than is normal when making a fist. it doesn't appear to affect anything at this point.

i used it a lot today without the brace. lightly scratching a girls back for 30 minutes (good p-t), held a fork (sort of), tied shoe, held a pipe and manipulated the carb and more, but nothing with any force or weight. even so, these were things i couldn't do yesterday. i came closer to making a fist today than yesterday. and i've skied 14 of the 19 days since the injury, so overall i'm very happy with where things are at this point.
my main concern at this point is letting it heal strong enough that it doesn't rebreak, which is where the maple milk comes in.

[Orthoski]

Bone healing doesn't tend to be the problem in metacarpal fractures - it's the position in which the bones heal. One of the biggest issues in metacarpal fractures isn't just the angulation (i.e., the "bump" your noticing), it's also the rotation of the bone, which is why your pinky is now curling under your fourth finger when you make a fist. This rotation tends to be the bigger functional problem in the long run. As others have suggested, my recommendation is that you see a hand surgeon immediately (meaning, tomorrow), but you likely have started healing to an extent that makes corrective surgery more difficult.

[El Chupacabra]

Bone healing doesn't tend to be the problem in metacarpal fractures - it's the position in which the bones heal. One of the biggest issues in metacarpal fractures isn't just the angulation (i.e., the "bump" your noticing), it's also the rotation of the bone, which is why your pinky is now curling under your fourth finger when you make a fist. This rotation tends to be the bigger functional problem in the long run. As others have suggested, my recommendation is that you see a hand surgeon immediately (meaning, tomorrow), but you likely have started healing to an extent that makes corrective surgery more difficult.

I had Mrs. C. (occupational therapist, CHT) read this thread today. She agrees 100% with everything written by Orthoski.

Go to an orthopedic surgeon who specialized in hands, ASAP, or it is very likely that hand will not heal correctly.