Hey guys! I am home now and my surgery went well. It took about 1 1/2 hours longer than anticipated because the doctor found I had another break that didn't show up on the X-rays and it took a lit bit more to fix things up. I am doing pretty well. I had some IV pain meds (dilaudid) overnight but now I am not taking any pain meds and I am doing ok. So now the waiting begins. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. It really helped. I will update as I go along. And I am sure I will have some questions for you.
 
DG, sounds good. Do you have less pain than before the surgery or is it just different? I think bsbs 1876 has most knowledge about the delayed clavicle surgery as he mentioned, although he has the über-experience on that. DG, was your shoulder shortened much? I suppose the shorter it is, the more there's pain after the surgery. But sounds like everything is just as it should. And one thing is for sure: it'll be much quicker from now on than before, even if there is some waiting before engaging into any activities. I hope you have more patience than I do (you definitively have, it's quite obvious after the 12 weeks of waiting).
 
AB, the pain is somewhat different but not terrible like I thought it would be. A lot of stiffness of course. But my neck hurts the most today. It feels swollen all around and is extremely stiff. And I have a horrible headache. Still not taking any pain meds though except for Tylenol a couple times a day. The prescription pain meds make me feel absolutely horrible. So forget those! I had no issues with the anesthesia or any of the pain meds like I thought I might. My shoulder was significantly shortened. They never told me how much measurement wise but it was very obvious upon looking at me as my left shoulder looked tiny compared to the other. And my clothes would not stay on my shoulder at all. I had to pull them up all day long. I tried to measure how much shorter the left side was but it was hard to do myself. It seemed like it was at least an inch and a half shorter. My shirts always looked crooked. Hopefully it will look almost normal after it is healed.
 
congrats for your successful surgery, there will be absolutely no difference from before when everything mends completely, but you definitely need to have the second surgery and have the plate/screws removed some time in the future, this could be after 16-18 months, as far as my doctor told me. Now there is nothing you can do just be patient and have some light physio at home to get rid of the stiffness, the stiffness will go away with time and it is a side effect of the surgery itself, your doctor cut your skin and muscles deep and then stitched your muscles in several layers with internal stitches and this creates the pain and the stiffness. The headache is from the anesthesia, you need a couple of days until the drugs leave your body. Can you upload your xrays after the surgery?
 
Originally Posted by willy81

Can you upload your xrays after the surgery?
There are some painfull looking pics and xrays in the photo gallery for this thread, ouch!
 
I still can't figure out how from a simple fall at soccer i did such a mess. Hope that the surgery and the pain from it is worth it and my shoulders are symmetrical again. I will sure be more careful next time with sports activities and driving the car. If from soccer you can break a bone like this, i imagine from a car accident.....
 
DG, I hope you won't be needing any painkillers. I took IBU more or less regularly, But only for the headache, not really for the shoulder. I suffered from the headache before the surgery and maybe 24 hours after it. Plus some irregular days. I thought my shoulder looked somewhat massive after the operation but it got smaller gradually and having clothes on, you wouldn't know the difference any more. My shoulder wasn't shortened for a long period of time so I didn't really have problem with pain on trapezius or neck (well, I had on the front side). Berygu, it really feels strange that one can broke a bone from a small fall/crash. But since I know people who have fractured their ankles from stepping badly in stairs, I don't wonder how any bone can be broken from seemingly small force. I've fallen from a horse before and been scared because the horse did it on purpose and I knew I couldn't hold on for long - but then I only had some bruising. This time I wasn't even scared but landed on the shoulder and the end result wasn't so good.
 
Wish I could comment on how easy my break felt, but I blacked out unconscious when my ATV rolled on me at 60 km/h into a 90 degree turn. Woke up in the hospital bed with lots of road rash!
 
I didn't get any pic of the after X-ray yet but I will at my 2 week post op visit. I am feeling much better today. Headache is almost gone. Slept great last night. I've been doing the exercises they told me to do several times a day and my shoulder isn't feeling so bad. I am able to walk around and do a few things for myself like get a glass of water. I am eating well but I still have a little nausea. I guess that will get better too as the days go by.
 
Still doing pretty good. Things have been pretty uneventful which is good. Sleeping ok and the pain is tolerable. The exercises really help. I did get a slight rash on my arm I think from the betadine solution that they clean you with before surgery. It is itching but hopefully it will go away soon. Lots of family bringing over meals, taking lots of naps and watching a lot of TV! Time is actually seeming to go by pretty quickly. Looking forward to getting the stitches out so I can take a real shower!
 
Dane Girl said:
My shoulder blade is hurting a lot. Do you suppose it is from the realignment?
Yeah, mine hurt for a few months. The scapula gets it's position from the angle and shape of the clavicle, so when the collar bone is broken the shoulder blade sits differently. This causes a winged scapula a lot of the time. Once you are able to do physical therapy, make sure you incorporate some back exercises to build up the muscles that support the scapula - pull downs, rows, etc. Worked wonders for me.
 
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You know, these days I am considering not having the plate removed. Or at least not any time soon. My shoulder feels really good lately and I don't want to get cut open again really... I think I am going to wait it out this summer and if I do have it removed I will do it next winter. That way it is safer too because it will be around 18 months post op. It's odd how crappy I felt a few months ago and how great I feel the past month. It almost feels pre-injury. I would say 95%+.
 
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bsbs1876 said:
You know, these days I am considering not having the plate removed. Or at least not any time soon. My shoulder feels really good lately and I don't want to get cut open again really... I think I am going to wait it out this summer and if I do have it removed I will do it next winter. That way it is safer too because it will be around 18 months post op. It's odd how crappy I felt a few months ago and how great I feel the past month. It almost feels pre-injury. I would say 95%+.
good choice, keep it at least 16 months, the bone mends much slower with the blade, so next Autumn or winter will be the right time to get rid of the metal and the rest 5% will come when you have the blade removed, the blade will always prevent you having this extra 5%,
 
Dane Girl said:
My shoulder blade is hurting a lot. Do you suppose it is from the realignment?
it will stop hurting you soon when the surrounding muscles get their normal size and flexibility don't try much physio, just a few simple things to keep blood flowing around your shoulder, keep your arm always close to your body, at least for 4 weeks, my doctor asked me to raise my arm and point the ceiling exactly 4 weeks post op.
 
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Greetings James Thomas.

As one who HAS had surgery to fix broken bone situation, I would advise extreme caution, as ALL surgery causes a degree of scar tissue formation that will be IN ADDITION, to any already present from your injury. Unless the surgeon could prove to me that this surgery was of immediate importance, I would rely on therapy first ! Of course, it depends on how much pain or discomfort you are experiencing. I have already had to have surgery, to remove the scar tissue build up from the original surgery. I had no choice in the matter of the original surgery, as the bone in my wrist actually died, and was necrotic. However, the scar tissue caused me to experience pain within a few years after the original surgery, and also caused carpal tunnel syndrome. I couldn't stand the numbness, tingling and burning sensation, plus I dropped everything I grasped with my left hand for months before the surgery. The last surgery has been 20 years ago, but within 5 years I had more scar tissue build up, which created a large "knot" on top of my left wrist, which limits range of motion. So, despite what doctors will say(to make money in the end) surgery should be the final option when it is possible, and physical therapy can often work wonders. A friend of mine had arthoscopic rotator cuff surgery which did not bring relief, but made pain worse. He then opted for major surgery instead of 12 weeks physical therapy. Three more surgeries later, he can no longer lift arms above perpendicular to floor, and can no longer restore and hot rod vintage Cheyy's, which he existed for. He has slid into depression, and is on disability for THAT. He does nothing anymore but watch T.V. I'm a liberal at heart, but when it comes to "the knife" I am most definitely a conservative in my approach.

What ever you decide, good luck, and may God speed your recovery.

Sincerely tonequester.
 
Bsbs1876, I 'm probably going to let my plate stay as it doesn't seem to bother so much. There's a tender spot above it but other than that, it's fine. If it'll hurt or otherwise disturb me later, well, maybe then. I'm getting better every week. This week was better than the last and so on. Next week I have the permission to start doing sports. I still don't lift anything heavy and definitely not above my head, but sleeping is much better now and I sometimes wake up having my left arm under my head. Small progress but happily greeted.
 
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Hello. Two week update. I just got my stitches out today. Things are looking good and I am coming along very well. They told me I don't have to wear the sling anymore and gave me some additional exercises to do. Not quite sure how my shoulder feels just yet without the sling since today is the first day without it and I still haven't moved my shoulder much. Only to do the exercises which don't really bother me too much, only when I first start doing them. I can say that I am getting really super tired of sleeping on my back though which I am sure all of you know all about that! I am nervous about moving my arm too much. But It looks like I have ALOT of hardware in my shoulder holding things together. But I will still be super careful. I got the xray pic today and I was surprised about how much metal is in there! The Dr. had to put more in than he thought because of my comminuted fracture. Here are some pics. One pic is what the stitches looked like and one is after they were taken out and of course the pic of all that crazy hardware!!!
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