Tibia Hardware

[Mattbs4e 0]

So here's a question for those who have sustained internal hardware for broken bones (which I know there's a lot of us).

I broke my tibia in two places and fractured a bit of my fibula back in July during a ground launching incident. The end result was the standard cut you open, pick the pieces out while bolting the rest in place with pins, surgery. I have seven screws and that metal plate bit installed. Generally, the healing went well, and I have returned to my normal activities and manage to go running at least 3 times a week with little inconvience now.

For a few good months, besides a bit of swelling, I had no problems. In the last few weeks though, my ankle has really started to hurt when I'm flexing or using it to its full ability. For lack of a better description, it feels like I have a fucking titanium plate in my leg that won't move with my body. It hurts a fair amount of the time, and it aches even when I'm not using it sometimes. Twice as much if it is cold out.

Everyone I talk to with this same experience says they had theirs taken out after about 1 year. (Except I have spoken with a bunch of people that have pins and rods in their wrists/arms/hands that have never been removed). I've asked my doctors about this, and they say I don't need to have it removed---"it's designed to be permanent" they say. And unfortunately, my insurance covered most of the cost of putting it in, but will cover almost nothing of the estimated 3K to take it out. Plus the doctors are entirely optimistic that I will learn to deal if it's just left alone. Yet everyone I talk to who has had this done has said they felt way better after it was out.

So my question is this. Is there anyone out there that has left their hardware in indefinitely, and what has been the result? I guess I can't assume that I will ever be 100% healed again, but I'd like to do the action that gets me closest to feeling normal. So is this just part of the healing phase, or am I just coming to that part where everyone thinks about getting their pieces removed?

With the 2 1/2 months on the couch still fresh in my mind, I'm also not really stoked on being back there again. That stated, even if I somehow could come up with the 3K down the road to get these removed, how much recovery am I looking at? Is it worth it?

Any first hand opinion on this would be appreciatted.

[Peej 0]

Hey dude,

I asked a couple questions about Titanium removal a few months back and these are the replies i got:

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1928661;search_string=Titanium;#1928661

Otherwise i just searched the word "titanium" and got these results:

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?do=search_results&search_forum=all&search_string=Titanium&search_type=AND&search_fields=sb&search_time=&search_user_username=&sb=score&mh=25

I guess you could refine your search within these results? Good luck too on your decision, mine swings from day to day as to whether i'm going to have it out or not. Some days i want to and others i couldn't be bothered.

Advertisio Rodriguez / Sky

[Eule 0]

Quote

The end result was the standard cut you open, pick the pieces out while bolting the rest in place
with pins, surgery. I have seven screws and that metal plate bit installed.

I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice.

I had about the same thing, last week. On mine, apparently, it was a clean break and there wasn't
much of the "fish out the small bits" part. They cut me open down by the ankle and slid the plate
up into place; my doctor said this was a slightly newer procedure (it's been done for the last 4-5
years) than the traditional way where they cut open the whole side of your leg and lay the plate
directly over the bone. He said that the newer way avoids some of the cutting and can help the
healing go faster.

When we were discussing how to fix it, he asked me what I did, and I told him some of the things I
do besides jumping (ride bicycle, fix old cars, etc.) He said that since it sounded like I was fairly
active, he would recommend getting the plate out once everything was healed up. He said that if
I injured that leg again with the plate in there, the plate could actually make things worse. He said
that for older or less active people, the hardware is often left in. I think this is because the risk of
the surgery (infections, etc) is greater than the risk of the plate causing further damage.

I have talked to a local jumper who also had a tib/fib, and they told me that after working with one
orthopedic surgeon for a few months, they decided to see a sports medicine orthopedic specialist.
Apparently the sports-medicine guy was more used to dealing with younger and more active people,
and was able to help a bit more than the general orthopedic guy.

I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice.

Eule

PLF does not stand for Please Land on Face.

[pccoder 0]

I know this sucks, but with any injury you expect to go through a healing period which will usually be much longer than you hope. Just because you are able to get up and around doesn't mean that the injury is healed completely. Pain is your bodies way of informing you to slow down.

PcCoder.net

[councilman24 36]

I shattered the end of my tibia and broke a chunk out of my fibula in 1987. the tibia plate goes down to the end and forms a Y. There were six screws in it. I broke one sometime about a year later. The head and most of it started backing itself out under the skin. I had this taken out with a local but that's it. I don't think taking my tibia plate out was ever an option. I'm convinced that for a couple years I was walking on the plate. (probably not put I still think so) The cartilage in my ankle didn't survive so I've had to live with the equivalent of instant severe arthritis in the ankle. Haven't broke down and had it fused yet. Too chicken that it will still hurt. But I don't notice the tibia plate unless I try to lace a hiking boot right on top of it. Same with the plate on the fibula. After 20 years I just don't think the plates are an issue. The ankle is, but not because of the plates.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[chuckbrown 0]

FWIW, I shattered my fib and broke my tib clean off (or was it the other way around) in 2001. They put 2 screws in the big bone and 6 pins and a titanium plate in the little bone. The doctor said the metal stays with me for the duration. Occassionally, I'll get pain in the ankle (a dull ache), mostly if I don't exercise regularly. Other than that, I'd say I'm as close to 100% as I'll ever get. I run with no problems and have given the ankle quite a pounding both on and off the DZ. So far, so good.

[ZigZagMarquis 8]

I broke my right ankle back in 98, bad Tib / Fib fracture on a bad landing (low turn)...

Anyway, I had 8 screws and a plate, but unlike your injury, 7 of the screws & plate were on the Fib and the 8th screw was up through the end of the Tib to put it back together.

After the injury & surgery, I was in a cast and on cruthes (non weight bearing) for 6 weeks... after the cast came off, I was still on crutches and still non-weight bearing for another 3 weeks, but could do physical therapy on my right ankle. Walked with a cane for awhile after that, continued to do physical therapy, hung out at the DZ on the weekends. I was grounded for a little over 6 months total after the injury.

At about 10 or 11 months after the injury, I had the hardware taken out for similar reasons it sounds like you're wanting your's out... and because I had the thought in the back of my mind that it would be really "bad" to rebreak the same bones with the hardware still in.

In between when I got current again (injury + about 6 months) and when I had the hardware taken out (injury + about 11 months) I did jump, but jumped a bigger canopy... running out a landing wasn't something I wanted to do.

Anyway, after having the hardware out, I was up and walking within a couple of days, no real couch time that go around, and was only on the ground again for 6 weeks. After getting back in the air again, I jumped with an ankle brace for a couple of years until I forgot to bring it with me to the DZ one weekend and decided to forge ahead without.

Having said that, let me say, I'm not a doctor, obviously, so you should listen to them and not what a bunch of folks on the internet say... but, if you haven't already, you may want to talk it over with your doctor about what would happen if you break the same bones again with the hardware still installed? ... and seeing as how the screws and plate are on your Tibia (if I understand you correctly) then maybe there is a difference where they want to leave it in, but were willing to take it out for me since the plate and most of the screws were on my Fib... remember, the Tibia is the weight bearing bone in your lower leg, where as the Fibia is there for muscles and tendons as I understand (again, engineer, not doctor here).

Anyway, good luck. I'm sure we'd all be currious to hear how things go for you and what your doctors say.




Someone up post mentioned seeing a sports-med orthopod-surgeon type. I too went to see a sports-med bone saws doc when I was looking to have my hardware take out... not becaues I'm a hardcore jock... ... but because I figured a sports med doctor would be more "in tune" with "active" folks recovering from such an injury that are going to go out and keep doing things (i.e. skydiving) like where they hurt themselves in the first place. ... plus his office had a lot hotter looking nurses...

[jjrainyday 0]

It's possible that it's bothering you because you broke a screw (the screw doesn't break, but the bone around it does). I have had a titanium rod in my tibia for 2 years, and I broke a screw at the bottom about a year ago, causing it to really hurt when I walked around. They took the screw out while they were doing other work on that leg, and I haven't had a problem since.

My doctor (a sports guy) took out the rod in my femur a couple of months ago, saying that if I were injured again, the rod could cause things to be worse. I think my tibia rod will be in there forever, since the fracture stubbornly refuses to heal.

Good luck!

[Mattbs4e 0]

Thanks for everyone's opinions and info. I'd never thought about what would happen if I were to break the bone again in another such accident and the metal was still in there. I think in the long run I'll just get it taken out. Especially since that's what everyone seems to end up doing anyway, regardless of what my doctor says. But I'm going to have to come up with a way to convince insurrance to pay for it. Anyway, thanks again.

[chuckbrown 0]

Just to echo was ZigZag said, I do recall my doctor telling my not to skydive because if I ever broke the ankle again I'd probably be crippled for life. I don't know if that was because the metal was in or not. Ask your docs & best of luck.

BTW, I listened to everything my doctor said. I just ignored the part about not skydiving again.

[ZigZagMarquis 8]

Well, the sports doc I went to about having my hardware out was also a skydiver... ... he looked at the X-rays and asked me, "So, was it a Stilletto or a Sabre?"...

Anyway, I'm not telling you to fib or anything, but if you're having problems with the hardware in there... say pain, discomfort, swelling after exercise... I don't think a doctor telling you to "just live with it" is something I'd sit still for... there's lots of doctors out there.