One for Greedyfly

[Zeuhl]

Hi Greedyfly,

Last week you mentioned the plates and screws you had in your ankle were 'rejected'. As you can no doubt appreciate, I am quite interested in this subject.

I hope you don't mind me asking, how did this rejection manifest itself?
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[Greedyfly]

Hello Zeuhl,

Obviously the pins are 'foreign bodies' unfortunately after a couple of months some of my swelling went down and my pins started to stick out under the skin. They were very uncomfortable and I couldn't rest my ankle in certain positions. Also wearing trainers was very uncomfortable as the pins would rub against the shoe. It just caused quite a bit of unnecessary pain. The plate I had was fairly small and didn't cause trouble as far as I am aware - but it could have been responsible for any of the pain I had and the constant stiffness.

I think they generally only remove the plates/pins if they are causing you trouble. To be honest I am glad mine were removed as it made my ankle movement a lot easier (less tiff all the time) but at the same time I had to have another surgery last March because my ankle was loose in its socket - not sure if the pins staying in would have stopped that or not.

The pin/plate removal surgery itself was relatively pain free and the recovery process fairly quick compared to the original surgery/break. Didn't even need a cast etc.. Just crutches and bandages.

Any more questions feel free to ask, it sometimes helps to talk to someone who has had it done!


Hope you have a nice day

Greedyfly

[merciasounds]

When I had to have a steel rod attached to my spine, they had to take out the last screw as I could feel it. My pelvis is held together with staples and a kind of medical chicken wire, they fitted it, then had to take it off and use a finer gauge.

[Greedyfly]

My advice is if they do not bother you then do not bother them. But like Mercia and I have both experienced 'having something sticking out' its quite uncomfortable and generally worth the hassle to have them removed.

[Zeuhl]

Hi Greedyfly,

That's really helpful thank you.

I have two plates about 5" long on either side of the tibia just above the ankle with about 20 screws in total. They are actually holding all the pieces of bone in a sandwich.

It's interesting you were having problems with pins sticking through. It seems the plate I have on the offside-rear of the bone is quite commonly used and is well padded by tissue whereas the one on the inside-front is only used in extremis because there is little tissue there under the skin and the Consultant thinks that is the most likely to rub against boots etc

The plan is to review it all next May which will be 17 months post op and remove both plates if there are any problems.

My concern at the moment and reason for asking the question is that whilst at 6 months on I am hobbling about and gradually regaining mobility in the ankle with regular physio, the lower leg, ankle and foot are still as swollen as ever and I am starting to wonder if the plates are doing something to stop this go down.

Any thoughts?

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[piggynose]

so would you say that i have nothing to worry about if i told you i had a screw loose

[Zeuhl]

Hi Mercia

that sounds amazing. Was it an rta? Victoria Hollingsworth who presents A Place In The Sun was in a bad one in Spain and they removed at least one of her vertibrae and bridged the gap with rods and 'chicken wire'

Is this similar?

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[Greedyfly]

I was told swelling could last up to a year. Due to my having three surgeries in a year and a half my ankle has been permanently swollen and this causes mobility issues for me.

I struggle with patience, I unfortunately have none and I am aware that even one surgery is a lot of trauma to that area but I just want to be up and about NOW. lol

I think I push my ankle to much too soon and I often get told off by my physiotherapist for this. You are lucky in one respect that your surgeon wants to leave it so long to see how things go - I think this is advisable if its not causing you issues. It takes such a long time for the are to heal, all that soft tissue, nerves, muscle etc... It seemed everytime I got mobile I was under surgery again in my case. I have never had chance to actually heal.

My physiotherapist isn't so happy about all the surgery I have had so far and thinks that it has fixed some of the problems but has also caused some along the way which would have been avoidable if I had taken the time to heal.

I fond it is six and two threes really. I am grateful at the prospect that it is all over and done with (will find out in another few months), my ankle was very unstable but at the same time wonder if I would have had all this pain if I had had time to rest? Who knows.

Do you treat your swelling with hot and cold?

[Greedyfly]

Lol Piggy, it sounds like most of us have at one point or another.

I think Zeuhl that after such trauma from the accident and the surgery it is only natural that swelling will be there even now after this time. I expect mine to stick around for at least the next year and I also expect the pain for that long. After a couple of surgeries you really begin to realise just how traumatic the experience is for the affected area.

[merciasounds]

Hi Zeuhl, yes it was a RTA, I'm very, VERY lucky to be alive, I was also very lucky not to be decapitated, I was shunted from behind and pushed under a jack'knifed lorry, i quickly undid the seatbelt and i was (and swear to all that's holy this is true) 'pushed' from the right down into the footwell of the passenger seat seconds before the windscreen shattered as the roof was ripped off as my car was shoved under the lorry. (No physical being could have pushed me because I was the driver. ) Unfortuneately ot was at that moment the lorry decided to shed some of it's load of scaffolding pipes on top of me.
I broke my back four vertibrae up from the coccyx, my pelvis was broken into 17 pieces and the operation to piece me back together took 14 hours. they thought I might not walk again, but I was determined with all the time and effort everybody had put in on me, I didn't want to let anybody down. I was up walking with crutches after 12 weeks. I'm fine now five and half years later, I no longer have the rod in my back, although i can't stand for too long, but that's because I need a new hip now. I didn't have trouble with swelling as such, just 'heat'. The problem with feet is, it's where fluid tends to collect, and if there's a problem with the foot it can just exacerbate the problem.

[Zeuhl]

Hey Greedyfly

I understand your impatience. The surgeon told me right at the start it would be a year; I didn't believe him then but I am starting to accept it is going to take time. I am used to being pretty active for my 50+ years and the past 6 months has nearly driven me bonkers. Now it's sunny, it has hit home that my travel plans are on-hold for this year, I can't get into the sea at my local beach and even walking the dog is hard. So I'm feeling a bit frustrated.

Thanks for your sensible comments. I'm sure you're right; it's a question of keeping going and making steady progress.

I do hope your ankle continues to improve and the surgery to date proves to be enough! You're right about the trauma. We aren't meant to be opened up and messed about with by people with hammers and chisels!

Best wishes

p.s. I occasionally use an ice pack if I've been on my leg a lot and it's particularly swollen but mostly I forget - you know ... blokes ... hopeless!

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[Zeuhl]

Hi Mercia

Thanks for sharing your story; that really puts my injury into perspective!

Well done you for fighting back from that.
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[Greedyfly]

Zeuhl,

You are more than welcome. If you have any other bits a pieces you need to know just ask. As for the selling for me heat and cold works better. So bowl of cold water/ice couple of minutes then soak in warm for a couple of minutes. Each person is different. Also keeping your leg up when you are not busy helps a grate deal for me. I also understand your frustration I have virtually been housebound on and off for the last 18 months or so - very dull, all I want to do is get out and have fun and enjoy my life lol.

We will both soon be up and running (maybe not running) but you know what I mean.

Good luck with your recovery and let me know how you get on!

Greedyfly