broken clavicle...surgery or not?

Garden Girl

Well, I saw the doc this week, 8 weeks since the injury. The bone appears to still be trying to heal, although very slowly. There doesn't seem to be much more growth than 4 weeks ago. However, I've got great range of motion, about 90% or more. The doc's comment when I showed him my range of motion was, "You'd not have gotten much better than that with a plate and screw I'll tell you." He has agreed that we should continue to wait and see what happens over the next several weeks. So far it seems that my decision to wait and not rush into surgery was the right one, the doc even agrees. I don't need to see a physio. because as he put it "Your obviously doing enough good exercises on your own, a physio wouldn't do any better than what your already doing." Even though it's not joined yet, I'm feeling really good, although I do tend to need more rest than usual. I've done a little too much in the way of lifting this past week that I'm a little sore and very tired. I went to a friends for a party last night and ended up crashing on their couch until my husband came to get me to go home. I gave up using the sling at about the 6 1/2 week mark. Occasionally I might put it back on for a few hours at a time if I'm a bit sore or been too stupid in how much I lift. Since I feel so good, I'm tempted to get back into all my regular activities like biking, jogging, swimming and horse back riding but I'm doing my best to hold off. I'd rather heal right the first time around than suffer a second injury.

Nicoleta

Hello everybody!
I guess you all know why I joined this forum....yeah, I am one of the "lucky" ones that broke a clavicle. It happened just 3 days ago, May 10, 2007, doing some mountain biking. My left clavicle broke pretty bad, sticking out through my skin and forming a nice tent. Went to Emergency right away, X-ray, sling and saw the orthopaedic surgeon next day. The bones are not toughing and there is a pretty good gap between. He said we could try to wait and see if it heals by itself, but there is a chance i'll need surgery, it's up to me......So I came home, googled the issue, got this forum (great resource), and made my decision.....I will go for surgery on Monday. I am a VERY active person, this last few days of staying in bad and not being able to do too much were the biggest pain (more then the physical one caused by the clavicle). So I hope for the best, a succesfull surgery without complications, quick recovery and back on the bike and other activities soon. BTW, does anybody know a good orthopaedic surgeon in Vancouver, BC? I have scheduled the op but don't know much about that doc.....so I am ready to cancel and wait if anybody has a recommendation. I just want a very good job done :P.

Good luck to u all in your healing process and i'll keep u posted.

gplama

In follow up to my break 9 days ago and having the bone pinned three days later - Yesterday (8 days after the break) I was able to complete a 20km ITT event without any dramas. I wasn't able to get out of the saddle and sprint (much) but this was a time trial, so it was just tuck in and pedal! I ended up with 2nd place!

The first thing I thought after the break was "oh no, six weeks off the bike at the start of the racing season"... and after reading some horror stories I was prepared for the worst. So to anyone reading this thread looking for the answer of 'how long will I be off the bike'.... I guess it comes down to a case by case basis, 4 days was my experience! It'll be a few weeks before I'm nearing 100%, but the lungs and the legs won't need any re-training when I'm back into my scheduled training plan.

cheers,
lama

waspo

Hi lama, I'm in Melbourne too. I wish I had your Sports Orth. Any details would be appreciated.....for future mishaps of course.

I tried finding a guy to pin mine, but was put off surgery to let it heal naturally.
After seeing my Orth last week with a follow-up X-ray, things seem to be on the mend.
Calcium is slowly bridging over and I'm told my clavicle should be strong in about 6 months to a year.... What?!!!

Looks like I'm forced to take it REAL easy til then. So, no gymnastics, minimal weight training and no motorbikes........well, perhaps I can sneak that one in.

I don't know, I find this very disappointing especially when I see that you're able to get your bone pinned relatively straight away and of course, enjoy the improvements in such a short period.
Are you having the pin removed at a later date?

Thanks for posting, mate! I've been waiting for this.

gplama

Hey waspo - details have been PMed, but here they are for the benefit of others: http://www.orthopaedicsvictoria.com.au/ Martin Richardson was my surgeon.

The first thing I asked the emergency department was who do I speak to about having surgery to minimize down time. The awesome people at Epworth Richmond called around while I was there - the first surgeon they called wasn't willing to operate, Martin was! My referral visit to him was super fast. I'd done the research (mostly via this thread) and said to him "lets do whatever needs to be done to get me on the bike". He respected my situation and my urgency to get back on the bike and had me booked in the following morning at 7am for the operation.

I was lucky that I was refereed to the right person straight away, and as the x-rays show, the break was full but not a nasty separation of the bones which may have made the procedure suitable. Although, I'm no expert in such things, I break em, they fix em

The pin stays, it'll last longer than I ever will!

Fingers crossed this info can help you out - it makes posting my experience all worth while.

cheers,
lama

waspo

Yes, thanks mate!
I consider this information highly valuable and time saving, especiallly for future Melbournites visiting this site.

Thanks again and good luck!

BottleCage

I recently broke my Collarbone for the third time. Previosly I had broken my right one twice when I was a teenager and they just let it heal naturally. This time I decide to break the left one. Went down knew what I did immediately. After getting up off the road and sitting down. I was able to check out the break, it was a "tenting" up the skin but not through it. I knew what awaited me at the hospital since "been there done that" after the X-rays and put the figure eight brace more x-rays the doctor said to come back tomorrow and speak to the surgeon. He thought I would need surgery but wanted to have another expert have alook. Sure enough the surgeon said he would recommend surgery but it was my decision. (the break ws pretty jagged and he was concerned I would cause more damage letting it "float around till it healed".) So I agreed to have the operation I asked what I would have plates/screws or K-wires He said he would have to see when he opens me up. Well I now have two 15cm wires(very similiar to bicycle spokes in diameter) running from the back of my shoulder through the Clavicle kind of like a sis-kebob. Of course the first couple days I was still hurting a bit I stopped taking any pain relief after two days. It has been 1.5 weeks since the surgery and I have probably 60% range of motion. After a week the doctor said I could get on my indoor trainer and I had no problems. I could put my hands on the bars and put weight on the shoulder with no pain. My experience has been very positive and I am so happy I can get back to doing something quickly. I am still cautious with the left arm and try to do as little as possible but the fact I have litlle/no pain and some range of motion already is great for me. My doctor said I will (if I have no complication) have the wires removed in 6 to 8 weeks after the operation. I am very happy with the result so far and hope to be back on the road this summer.

__________________
“Too bad that all the people who really know how to run the country are busy driving taxi cabs and cutting hair.”
- George Burns

jhshannon

Wow. Good showing! and lucky you, I guess. I opted not to have surgery (2 docs told me my clavicle, despite being broken in 3 spots, would heal quickly). It's been 10 weeks now and there is little if any sign of new bone growth, and to boot an MRI shows torn cartilage and impingement in the shoulder too. ROM is decreasing so I have to step up the physical therapy. I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't have just gone in for the sugery right from the start. I am traveling a lot over the next 3 months for work and pleasure so the scalpel is not an option.

On the bright side, today I rode my bike for the first time in 10 weeks: went a whopping 4 miles (in NYC traffic, which is nerve-wracking). It looks to be a slow road to recovery but I'll get there....

-jhshannon

jetnjeff

Any one ever hear of steroids (hormones) that speed Bone growth?

Someone mentioned it to me. I looked up a few things on the web and although it is is scientificese, it looks like there might be something to it.

My doc is also checking on using a sonic bone stimulator from exogen.

Faster healing is what I am looking for. My 3 week X-rays were as expected. Figure 8 brace has move the bones together.

The doc says I must be healing cause of the lack of pain.

My range of motion is mostly back, but it did not hurt that much all along. I have a mutant MTBers high pain threshold though. So I judge my ROM on discomfort.

skt785

I've worn a bone stimulator for a few weeks now. There's no way to tell if it's helping. I seem to be healing fine but I have no way of knowing if I would have anyway.

I wore one after my clavicle break when it wasn't healing and it didn't seem to help then, but my doc is very firm about my wearing this now in an attempt to do everything possible to aid in recovery. It's a little bit awkward but it's not visible and I've just gotten used to having it on. Probably not a bad idea to add in to your treatment regimen.

Garden Girl

I didn't have much pain neither. I'm at week 9 and have practically all my range of motion back. X-rays at 8 weeks still show the bone broken but new growth visible. I'm even lifting various objects of different weights with that side, although if I do too much, I feel sore. What info have you uncovered on these steroids? Where can I learn about them?

Garden Girl

My bone is broken in three places as well and two small pieces are floating freely out of alignment. Although I'm not healed yet, I'm doing very well. I have included as part of my healing plan, a calcium pill & an Echinacea pill every morning, spinch in my diet at least twice a week, and a special shake I make my self though out the week. It is made with liquid egg whites, vanilla soy milk with heightened vitamines, 2% milk, vanilla yogurt and some fruit usually raspberries. I'm sure all these things are contibuting to how well I'm doing since I have practically all my range of motion back and experience very little in the way of pain.

jetnjeff

Here are some links:

http://edrv.endojournals.org/cgi/content/full/19/1/55

http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbook...hypopit/gh.html

http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/pr/news/story.cfm?id=1267

http://www.med.wayne.edu/wayne%20me...rtho%20surg.htm

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/conte...05?crawler=true

http://www.aans.org/education/journ...ec02/13-6-1.pdf

While not hormonal:

http://www.vitamins-supplements.org...nts/comfrey.php

http://www.manufacturingcenter.com/...0700/0700et.asp

factory61

FWIW: I raced motorcycles for a number of years and have broken around 18 bones in my body.


IMO - Surgery always as a last resort, find the best doc available that specializes in that particular surgery, and make sure you don't rush back activities that may irritate the fracture and slow healing. A couple of weeks of patience can save you months/years of problems.

I broke clavical, had it pinned and raced my motorcycle 10 days later (signed a new sponsor the day before fracture and had several performance bonuses attatched). The pin stripped, eventually poked through my skin, had to have it removed. I am still having issues a couple of years later as a result. Thought I was tough at the time and making the right decision. Looking back, I was foolish and whatever financial gains/bragging rights were'nt worth it.