broken clavicle...surgery or not?

[wolfman113]

WELL HERE I AM 11MONTHS AFTER MY CRASH WHICH BROKE MY CLAVICLE. WENT ABOUT 5MONTHS THINKING IT WAS GOING TO HEAL ON ITS OWN, NO SUCH LUCK HAD THE SURGERY ON NOV.13 A DAY BEFORE MY BIRTHDAY NOW AM STILL IN PAIN AND NONUNION OF THE BONES,SO BELIEVE IT OR NOT I HAVE TO GET A SECOND SURGERY ON APRIL 23 THIS MONDAY. THIS WHOLE INJURY HAS BEEN FOR ME A LIVING NITEMARE. EVERYTHING THEY TELL YOU ABOUT HEALING DIDNT WORK FOR ME I HOPE THE DR. HAS A PLAN ON HOW TO FIX THIS BONE BECAUSE I CANT STAND THE PAIN ANY MORE I HAVE HAD A LOT OF BROKEN BONES IN MY LIFE BUT MUST SAY WITHOUT A DOUBT THIS IS THE WORST...I AM WRITING IN HOPES THAT MAYBE SOMEONE HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM,I ALSO HOPE THAT THIS MIGHT HELP SOMEONE OUT THERE, BECAUSE IF I COULD DO IT OVER AGAIN I WOULD NOT OF HAD THE SURGERY THE FIRST TIME. NOW HERE I AM LOOKING AT A SECOND SURGERY I AM VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE A WOMAN LIKE I DO. I WOULD NOT HAVE MADE IT WITHOUT HER LOVE AND SUPPORT. IF ANYONE HAS A SIMILAR SITUATION PLEASE HIT ME BACK. I COULD REALLY USE THE INSIGHT AS TO WHAT I AM LOOKING AT THE SECOND TIME AROUND THANK YOU AND TAKE CARE EVERYONE OUT THERE BECAUSE I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE GOING THRU

 

[ksluis]

I broke my left clavicle yesterday after a nice nose dive over the handlebars. The break is in the middle and is a single break. The bone is displaced about 50% of its width, but the doctor says the gaps will fill in with new bone. He says it could go either way as far as surgery is concerned and is basically leaving it up to me, saying I can choose between a significant lump, or a 3" scar. That's a close call for me. I was wondering if anybody knows the approximate cost of this surgery? I have to pay 10% with my medical, so am looking for a ballpark figure. My wild guess would be in the $10k range. Anybody know what I should expect to pay for this type of surgery?

 

[waspo]

Hi Garden Girl, looks like your starting to get some positive results happening. I'm happy for you and wish you all the luck with your progress.

I get an x-ray next week to see if the bone is growing.
The shoulder is improving day-by-day, and I'm slowly gaining more strength.
I can lift my arm straight up over my head, but it's very tight around the lateral muscle. I need to stretch this out everyday which does help alittle.
Touching around the bumpy outcrop, I feel it has risen slightly and is alittle more promenant, which kinda sucks. It sticks out most when my arm is out infront of me. I only feel pain if i push at something down low, like putting a plug in the wall socket. I can even pick up my 10kg, 9month old boy, which is nice.
Eventhough things are improving and the bone seams to feel as if it has set, I'm really hoping for a good result next week so I can finally start getting back into my normal activities.

wolfman113, I feel for you buddy! So far my clavicle is in a better position than yours, but even then to have it broken in the first place is the worst thing that's happened to me in all my 36 years of life. I had to laugh when my Vet told me "...it's the better bone to break". Are you kinding or what?!!! He obviously hasn't experienced one yet! mmmmm......that can be arranged.lol!
My wife is very supportive too and it's good to have someone who cares. It's a nasty piece of work.
I hope all went well with the operation.
Please keep us informed on your progress, because it's definately helpful to the new broken clavicle members. Best of luck!

ksluis, all I can say is "Welcome to the club"! It's a really hard discision whether or not to have surgery, with many factors to consider. Kind of a catch 22. Whatever you decide, do it for the right reasons. If you go with surgery, try to go the Pinning option if possible, because as you probably know it's less invasive with minimal scaring; or wait it out and see how it mends on it's own.
At 50%, it sounds pretty good just to leave it heal. Mine is at 100% and feels good. Also, my clavicles don't show much so I can't even see much of a protrution anyway.
The main result for me is to have full movement and strength in my shoulder which I'm fairly optimistic about. But like they say only time will tell.
As for surgery costs, now there's a good question.
I may throw that one across to my specialist next week.
Good luck on what you decide and speedy recovery. You're in for a world of discomfort for the next few weeks!

 

[jhshannon]

Hey everyone, I got good news at the doc's this week. After four weeks there is some new bone formation. I could even see the difference on the x-rays myself. Also one of the bone fragments has altered it's location slightly. It used to be mostly vertical and I could feel it and push it up to a horizontal position, which gave everyone the "shudders" any time I did it. It seems to be remaining in a horizontal position now and I can't seem to feel it like I used to. It's not exactly lined up with the larger bone ends but at least it is in a better position. Also the Doc helped me to raise my arm above my head and I didn't have any pain in my collar bone region just in my bicep, but nothing I couldn't handle. The doc told me to keep up what I've been doing. I think he may have been slightly surprised to see some new bone forming. Hopefully this is a sign that opting to not have surgery was the right decision, and the bones will join rather than be a non-union.

That's great news! Sounds like you are def on the road to recovery. Today marks 2 months since my crash and burn. I've been seeing a physical therapist. Seems like having my arm in a sling allowed my arm muscles to weaken considerably (I could barely hold a 3 pound weight at shoulder level) and I now have some bad bursitis in the shoulder - but no pain where the breaks are. I can lift my arm over my head now, though it's a little tough to get full extension. I'll get some x-rays on Wed to see if there's been any bone growth. I hope so. I'm going nuts not being able to ride, though I did spend some time on a recumbant at the gym today and that was ok ... but not quite the same thing as the road bike that's for sure

 

[G.5Menoa21]

hey everybody. I got hit by a car 4 days ago and fractured my clavicle. Today I saw a specialist who seems fixated on opening me up and "plating" me. He says without the surgery I will have a bump there permanently. I don't even think that he looked at my X-rays from the ER as there was no mention of them. Although it has only been 4 days, I can fight through the pain and raise my arm above my head. I really do not like the idea of surgery or having anything implanted in me for the rest of my days. I would much prefer a natural healing process and am just wondering if anybody out there knows of anything I could do to reduce the probability or size of the lump. Any help whatsoever will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[jhshannon]

First off, sorry to hear about your accident. I hope it heals well and quickly.
Second, it seems like everyone's physician has a different perspective on the issue of surgery. Some argue for surgery, others not. Mine told me to expect a bump but that it's not a big deal "unless I wear a bikini" (I don't!). So it seems that some docs recommend the surgerical option for women but not for men, for purely cosmetic reasons. The two orthopedic surgeons I saw (both sports medicine personnel for a local professional hockey team) argued against surgery, claiming that there is a higher risk of complications, infections, and in fact poor healing. I've gone 2 months w/o surgery and aside from some bursitis in that shoulder have little pain and now about 85% range of motion. I go for follow up X-rays tomorrow so the prognosis may change.

If you have doubts ask for another opinion based on your x-rays and your particualr needs.
Good luck!

hey everybody. I got hit by a car 4 days ago and fractured my clavicle. Today I saw a specialist who seems fixated on opening me up and "plating" me. He says without the surgery I will have a bump there permanently. I don't even think that he looked at my X-rays from the ER as there was no mention of them. Although it has only been 4 days, I can fight through the pain and raise my arm above my head. I really do not like the idea of surgery or having anything implanted in me for the rest of my days. I would much prefer a natural healing process and am just wondering if anybody out there knows of anything I could do to reduce the probability or size of the lump. Any help whatsoever will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[G.5Menoa21]

thank you for the response jhshannon. that is exactly what i'm going to do. get a second opinion. i really want to avoid the surgery.

 

[Garden Girl]

hey everybody. I got hit by a car 4 days ago and fractured my clavicle. Today I saw a specialist who seems fixated on opening me up and "plating" me. He says without the surgery I will have a bump there permanently.

It seems that most of the time it's the newer, younger doc's that perfer to opt for surgery. My doc gave me the option and mentioned that most older docs would be against it. He also said there really isn't a lot of congrete research out there to suggest that sergury is the better way than letting it heal on it's own. He had suggested surgery in my situation because of the multipuly breaks and the large gap left by the two smaller displaced pieces. He stated that if the small pieces had remained realatively lined up as they were in the x-rays taken immediately after the injury he wouldn't even have given me the possibility of surgery. His opinion based on experience is that I could possibly be a non - union. Even with surgery there are no garentees that healing will occur well. Surgery can always be done later down the road, so I'm letting my body give it a go first. Besides I wasn't too keen on the nerve damage that occurs when they operate with the plate and screws, there is no avoiding the nerve damage. As well, since I am so phsically active, triatholons, camping, canoe tripping etc. I didn't want the iritation of the visible plate and screws to bother me in my activities. I did consult a second doc as well. He was on older ortho that had operated on my daughter back in Sept. after she broke her leg and ankle in a horse riding accident. He had done a really good job on her. His opinion was that he would hesitate to do the surgery especially on healthy women. I told him I wasn't concerned about a scar, I'm already married and have 5 children so I don't need to be worried about attracting a man. He said he still recommended letting it heal on it's own. Got to go! My workers have arrived!

 

[j.r.hawkins]

Sounds like this is a club I should be real glad not to be in: I came down on Wednesday night at about 50km/hr after some kind soul decided to spray the contents of his sump over about 2-300m on the steepest and fastest part of my route home.

Touched the brakes only lighlty and out went the front. All I had time for was to think "WTF?!" before I smacked the pavement and then "Bargain! I've still got my skin!" when I finally slid to a stop.

The end of my clavicle was the major point of impact and is real sore along hte whole length. I couldn't pick up anything at all or drive the following day, but I'm counting my blessings: could have been a whole lot worse. Especially since a) there was traffic and b) my helmet was toast.

The x-rays revealed no factures. That and the fact I've only got a couple of dime-sized spot grazes after a 50kph crash... well, I'm still shaking my head. But then, no oil would have meant no crash.

Hope you guys heal up quickly.

 

[Garden Girl]

Sounds like this is a club I should be real glad not to be in: I came down on Wednesday night at about 50km/hr after some kind soul ...

I suggest you take it easy for the next few weeks. Sometimes hair line fractures are missed. If you had trouble lifting anything, that could possibly be an indication that a tiny fracture was missed on the x-ray. I have a friend that had fractures in her ankle that was initially missed. Be sure to listen to your body, it knows what's going on. I'm glad for you that you were not more seriously injured especially with your clavical. It's not much fun and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

 

[j.r.hawkins]

Thanks for the thoughts. You might well be right. This morning after waking up the discomfort was worse and, today (Sunday) after an afternoon siesta, it is very sore again. I'd ditched the idea of using the sling because I was a bit embarassed to wear it, but I might have to fish it out again.

In any case I'm unlikely to be back on the bike for at least a week, probably longer.

 

[gplama]

my 50km/h crash yesterday..... road racing just outside Melbourne, Aust.

I'll be talking to a specialist tomorrow about pins/plates. I need to get back on the bike asap, even if it is only on the trainer.

 

[dankau13]

I broke my left clavicle 3 days ago. It appears that the healing is going very well even though I only used the sling for the first day. I have virtually no pain except when I try to lift things and there has been no sounds of the bone moving for well over a day. I can even type with two hands with minimal discomfort. Do you think it is safe for me to go on without the sling or should I use it even though it appears to not make a difference?

 

[gplama]

I'll be talking to a specialist tomorrow about pins/plates. I need to get back on the bike asap, even if it is only on the trainer.

Pinned today - very straight forward procedure. Regained a great deal of movement already!

 

[stacenut]

I broke my left clavicle 3 days ago. It appears that the healing is going very well even though I only used the sling for the first day. I have virtually no pain except when I try to lift things and there has been no sounds of the bone moving for well over a day. I can even type with two hands with minimal discomfort. Do you think it is safe for me to go on without the sling or should I use it even though it appears to not make a difference?

Wow.....you're break must not be too extreme if you have no pain....or you're taking super meds!! I certainly would not attempt to lift things at this point...why risk further injury or delayed healing. I personally have mixed feelings about the sling. I wore it constantly for the first 6 weeks as instructed as I wasn't healing and ultimately dealt with a frozen shoulder to compound the problem. I ended up having surgery 4 months later. I think the sling is helpful when you're out in public to avoid people bumping into you and also to remind yourself not to do stupid things...like lift something

Good luck with your recovery!

 

[j.r.hawkins]

A couple of days along from my first post and I'm almost certain I've got a crack somewhere near the outer end.

The sling definitely helps, and it got me a seat in the bus this morning but I've found the most comfort from one of those microwavable heat packs with the treated wheat stuffing.

I can use the keyboard OK, and can drive short distances (~3km to the bus) providing I go easy and don't make sudden turns, but every short while I get spasms of pain that feel like the're not at all muscle- or cartilage-related, and which seem to be coming from inside the bone... like about now.

Enough whining. I imagine an outright break would hurt a lot worse. gplama - is that pin in for good?

 

[stacenut]

A couple of days along from my first post and I'm almost certain I've got a crack somewhere near the outer end.

The sling definitely helps, and it got me a seat in the bus this morning but I've found the most comfort from one of those microwavable heat packs with the treated wheat stuffing.

I can use the keyboard OK, and can drive short distances (~3km to the bus) providing I go easy and don't make sudden turns, but every short while I get spasms of pain that feel like the're not at all muscle- or cartilage-related, and which seem to be coming from inside the bone... like about now.

Enough whining. I imagine an outright break would hurt a lot worse. gplama - is that pin in for good?

I'm choosing to keep the pin as it really doesn't bother me. My surgeon did an excellent job and the scar is minimal so why go through another procedure?

 

[jetnjeff]

Whoa! Finnally finishsed this thread.

I am a regular on the Power forum. But found this is in a google search.

I completely broke my Right collar bone on 4/22/2007. It is a complete fracture with a small chip with a good gap (2cm I'd say with out the brace) My sports Ortho is not young or old. Wants to let it heal it self with a figure 8 brace.

I am fine with that as I broke my left 20 years ago MTBing.
Maybe it will even out and I'll be more aero dynamic

So far this one is not as bad as the first one. Have the smell under controll with alcohol cleanings. I have even got the last bit of range of motion back on the left side and am getting more dextrous on as well.

He says keeping the 8 brace tight will promote healing/union. Broke it at 7:30 am in a Road race on Sunday and stopped in for the last couple hours of work at the shop later that day.

The worst part has been my lower back. I guess due to the extra laying around, no yoga and it having to make up for my right side somewhat. Killer at times.

Then the brace digging in to my arm pits.

I have been on my trainer twice so far and done a few walks. Due on the trainer in about an hour from now today.

I need to ride. The less I ride the more time I have ot eat.

 

[skt785]

I had my surgery a little over 6 weeks ago and I wanted to post a followup. The good news was that they found enough bone had come in before the healing process halted that they didn't need to get a graft from my hip. So my recovery was much easier than it might have other wise been. The bad news is that it still sucked. I was pretty useless for almost a week and then it's been a slow haul back.

But I've progressed each week and now feel much better than I did with a non-union. I had decent range of motion but was generally sore and couldn't lift anything. Now, after good PT, I've got better range of motion, not pain at the site of the break and no bump. I do have a 4.5 inch scar that I hope fades some and more numbness around the incision than I expected. I have to get an x-ray next week to see if the break is healing proplerly (it feels pretty good but I've learned not to trust that entirely) and if it is, I expect to get back pretty full use of my arm and shoulder.

Some people have advocated the pin method over the plate and screws here. I had the latter and asked my doc about the former. He's a pretty young guy and was wary about the pin even though it involves much less in the way of an incision. He felt it gives much less control over the site of the break so he prefers putting in a plate, even with the greater bodily assault involved.

My remaining major concern is about getting back on my bike. I'm confident that I'll feel okay riding but am scared of another similar crash. Yes, we all crash. But I can't imagine what will happen if I hit the same area again. What does a plate and screws do upon impact, I wonder?

 

[wolfman113]

HEY WASPO THANKS FOR YOUR REPLY BACK. REALLY APPRECIATE THE CONCERN. WELL ITS ALMOST 3WEEKS SINCE MY SECOND SURGERY AND MUST SAY IT HURTS A LOT MORE THIS TIME AROUND THAN THE FIRST SURGERY. HE SAID HE TOOK OUT THE ONE PLATE AND FOUR SCREWS AND REPLACED IT WITH 2PLATES AND 6SCREWS. WOW LUCKY ME. REALLY DONT KNOW WHAT TO THINK THIS TIME AROUND, BUT KNOW THIS BETTER HEAL THIS TIME..... CANT SEE MYSELF GOING THRU THIS AGAIN...... ALL I CAN SAY TO THE REST OF YOU OUT THERE, IS IF YOU HAVE THE CHOICE OF HAVING THE SURGERY OR NOT BELIEVE ME YOU DONT WANT TO GO THRU THE NITEMARE I AM LIVING WITH.. HOPE YOU ALL HAVE BETTER LUCK THAN I HAVE.......

Hi Garden Girl, looks like your starting to get some positive results happening. I'm happy for you and wish you all the luck with your progress.

I get an x-ray next week to see if the bone is growing.
The shoulder is improving day-by-day, and I'm slowly gaining more strength.
I can lift my arm straight up over my head, but it's very tight around the lateral muscle. I need to stretch this out everyday which does help alittle.
Touching around the bumpy outcrop, I feel it has risen slightly and is alittle more promenant, which kinda sucks. It sticks out most when my arm is out infront of me. I only feel pain if i push at something down low, like putting a plug in the wall socket. I can even pick up my 10kg, 9month old boy, which is nice.
Eventhough things are improving and the bone seams to feel as if it has set, I'm really hoping for a good result next week so I can finally start getting back into my normal activities.

wolfman113, I feel for you buddy! So far my clavicle is in a better position than yours, but even then to have it broken in the first place is the worst thing that's happened to me in all my 36 years of life. I had to laugh when my Vet told me "...it's the better bone to break". Are you kinding or what?!!! He obviously hasn't experienced one yet! mmmmm......that can be arranged.lol!
My wife is very supportive too and it's good to have someone who cares. It's a nasty piece of work.
I hope all went well with the operation.
Please keep us informed on your progress, because it's definately helpful to the new broken clavicle members. Best of luck!

ksluis, all I can say is "Welcome to the club"! It's a really hard discision whether or not to have surgery, with many factors to consider. Kind of a catch 22. Whatever you decide, do it for the right reasons. If you go with surgery, try to go the Pinning option if possible, because as you probably know it's less invasive with minimal scaring; or wait it out and see how it mends on it's own.
At 50%, it sounds pretty good just to leave it heal. Mine is at 100% and feels good. Also, my clavicles don't show much so I can't even see much of a protrution anyway.
The main result for me is to have full movement and strength in my shoulder which I'm fairly optimistic about. But like they say only time will tell.
As for surgery costs, now there's a good question.
I may throw that one across to my specialist next week.
Good luck on what you decide and speedy recovery. You're in for a world of discomfort for the next few weeks!