Well, winter might be as good a time as any to have downtime from surgery, but I’m not part of the Avoid surgery at all costs crew.
Teddy I awoke from my hysterectomy with 2 nurses pinning my shoulders down. I was evidently insisting that I was going to get up and go to the bathroom, despite the foley, IV and pressure wraps on my legs
Update in 1st post
Bumping with update and looking for experiences and ideas.
Do surgery immediately.
I would see a different doctor.
Once it is done it will be well on it’s way to being healed come mid march.
Bones need to be corrected put together to heal. If not it heals wherever it attaches itself. Then they have to break that off. By mid-march the broken bones will be healed up, kinda like a scab how it heals over. I really do not see how it can ever be healed if the bones are not right now put together.
I had a quite nasty compound tibia. I had a rod and screws put in right away.
You are foolish to wait. You wait you risk maybe never having that shoulder heal right. So this may mean forever and ever you will always have problems.
Other things like your muscles not being used are now in danger. You can not remain in a perfect position for a solid month. Stuff happens. You may sneeze and mess it up. Lots of negative possibilities.
See a different doctor, demand surgery now. Hind sight is 20-20. I have been there done that, go now. It is up to you to keep you safe. It is up to you to heal you. Nobody can do it for you. I figured that long ago.
[QUOTE=rmh_rider;6138618]
Do surgery immediately.
I would see a different doctor.
Once it is done it will be well on it’s way to being healed come mid march.
Bones need to be corrected put together to heal. If not it heals wherever it attaches itself. Then they have to break that off. By mid-march the broken bones will be healed up, kinda like a scab how it heals over. I really do not see how it can ever be healed if the bones are not right now put together.
I had a quite nasty compound tibia. I had a rod and screws put in right away.
You are foolish to wait. You wait you risk maybe never having that shoulder heal right. So this may mean forever and ever you will always have problems.
Other things like your muscles not being used are now in danger. You can not remain in a perfect position for a solid month. Stuff happens. You may sneeze and mess it up. Lots of negative possibilities.
See a different doctor, demand surgery now. Hind sight is 20-20. I have been there done that, go now. It is up to you to keep you safe. It is up to you to heal you. Nobody can do it for you. I figured that long ago.[/QUOTE]
The injury originally happened in September - so I am already 5 months out. The shoulder is usable, to the point of cleaning stalls and riding, even with the non-union but there are enough times it bothers me that leaving it as is won’t work. Mid march works for me for several reasons.
Christa
Surgery scheduled - 3/13
Surgery scheduled for March 13. Hopefully fully healed by Memorial Day so I can be ready for summer riding and driving.
Christa
Good luck with the surgery.
Good luck! That’s quite a long wait you’ve had…
I went through clavicle stabilization 2 weeks post-accident but it was a much worse fracture that would not have healed without a plate. I can tell you that once the whole works was stabilized by the plate, I felt so much better and was back to riding much more quickly than I’d expected… Led around on a pony 2 weeks after surgery, and WTC by 3 or 4 months out. The area is a little deformed but doesn’t bother me at all.
Bumping with update in first post
I can’t believe you had to wait 6 months to get surgery done and sorted out once and for all! What a huge drag. Hope you heal properly and quickly now.
Healed and feeling great
9 weeks out and the shoulder feels great, I just wish I had pushed to get it last fall. My advice is that at the first hint of a non-union get the surgery.
I started riding again last weekend and I am slowly getting back in shape while training my new OTTB (xmas eve, but just really starting retraining).
Christa
Hello
I am new to this forum but I am very interested in this topic.
I had an accident almost 3 weeks ago, broke my right collarbone in two places and 2 surgeons said surgery is needed and 2 said no surgery…I am really trying to avoid surgery because first of all I am scared like crazy because of this intervention so I opted for the slng and bedrest. I am affraid that after 6 weeks it won’t heal properly, even though the surgeon said I wouldn’t want a big scar my entire life so I would better try this method and that I have a 85% to 90% chance of healing perfectly. I am scared that after 6 to 8 weeks of trying to keep my back straight and my shoulders pulled back the splint of bone that doesn’t really allign back with the others will be in the same position. Of course it will never go back in it’s initial perfect position but I hope it’s ok. If the surgeon said that and with therapy I can use the arm corectly I think I am on the right path. Thing is I am clearly desperate so any information would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
PS: this is the second time I fractured this clavicle- 10 years ago and exactlyin the same way…fallen from the horse on the shoulder but back then it wasn’t a fracture just a crack.
Scars fade.
Ada, scars do fade, and if you are still in pain because your collarbone is moving around, one benefit of surgery is that it will stabilize the break immediately. There will still be pain but you won’t be being stabbed inside by broken bone ends!
I had a plate put on my left collarbone in 2008 a couple of weeks after a bad fall. This break would not have healed on its own. It was day surgery and I was home that night. The surgeon told me to keep the scar covered for a year and wear sunscreen over the scar, even under clothing if I was going to be out in the sun a lot. Also, after my stitches were out, I put Vitamin E oil on the scar every day. It’s about 7 inches long and still there, but a casual observer won’t notice it, and in any case my clothes usually cover it up.
(BTW – some of the online clothing stores for Jewish women who dress modestly and need to have their collarbones covered have very nice underlayers to go underneath a low-cut top or dress.)
If you are young and healthy, you can probably have a second surgery later on to remove the plate, which will improve flexibility and is also safer if you fall on it again. I chose to keep my plate because of my age (44 at the time) and the nature of the break.
I am not saying surgery is the right decision for you; have a good surgeon look at your current X-rays to see how stable the fracture is and if it is healing.
thanks for the advice!
I am currently wearing a figure 8 brace and in my fifth week. I saw a surgeon today who moved my arm around like crazy and the pain is partially back but because of the pressure he put on the area of course, anyway he said no surgery is needed at the moment and that in 10 days we will see the progress and start therapy. I will probably have a nasty lump but well I guess I can have surgery later if I want.
It’s so weird, I was doing something I love and then this happens and how it happened is more than weird, I just fell after jumping, so just before stopping …really like a beginner…
well maybe it was supposed to happen, what can I say…
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