Heavy Metal Club

[Shadow 9er]

I had a titanium intermedullary rod emplaced in my right Tibia following an MC acident in 1997, where I got T-boned while going through an intersection. I suffered a compound/open tib-fib fracture, and prior to this I had never expected to see any of my bones up close and in person.

At the time, my surgeon gave me about a 50-50% chance of avoiding a lower leg amputation, because I had shattered about 6 inches of my tibia into little tiny pieces. The fibula fracture that came with it apparently wasn't cause for much concern in light of the more serious breakage.

The surgeon later told me that they wore out seven drill bits while trying to bore out the center of my tibia, and had to use the smallest diameter rod they had, due to my apparently outstanding bone density. Woo-hoo!

Anyway, they put the rod in. I was told it could be removed at some later time if necessary, but it would rpobably be with me forever unless there was a damn good reason to take it back out.

I figured I never had to worry much about breaking that leg again...maybe "bending" it could be a problem.... thankfully, that issue has never come up so far.

I've managed to avoid aquiring any further metal pieces, but thought I might get another last year when I broke my collarbone in another crash. lucky for me, it healed naturally.

[etingelefunts]

See that long straight stretch of dirt road? Last "normal" thought I had was, "Nice road... What could possibly go wrong if I build a head of steam and drift through that next bend?" Answer. A high speed wobble which morphed into a thrilling tank slapper breaking both my wrists, 5th thoracic vertebrae, and knocked my ass out. Last thing I saw was my tiny shadow, well aloft from a masterful high-side. Tragically my shadow began to increase in size exponentially as gravity brought it closer to my then squinting eyes.

[zora]

ADV salute from the emergency room.



The damage.



The fixxy fix with 16 screws and two plates.



The aftermath.

Three and a half months ago I was racing around a friend's track and went down in a muddy corner. There were probably 20+ boys out there riding with me that day, but who was the one hot on my tail, following too closely to avoid running right over me? My husband. Yep, tore right over my arm on his KTM and snapped it like a twig.

It still doesn't bend much at all yet and I missed out on the whole ice riding season this year.

I'm in PT twice a week and I've gotten pretty darn crafty at doing things with one hand, but it better start flexing soon cuz dirt riding is just around the corner!

[etingelefunts]

Originally Posted by zora

I'm in PT twice a week and I've gotten pretty darn crafty at doing things with one hand, ...

With two broken wrists, I could type barely.
However a dump required a garbage bag on each arm in order to expedite the post poo shower. My girl offered to do the honors, but the LAST thing I needed was to hear her years from now, reminding me how she use to wipe my damn heine. Never give someone THAT sort of ammo.

[Hardhead]

Hang in there. I did similar damage to mine and the scar is almost an exact replica. I did mine in Nov 12. (Post 47 on previous page)
I've got about 20 deg to go before the arm is straight and i can bend enough to hold a phone to me ear. Still working hard to get some strength back into it. The surgeon says im about 80% of the way to where im going to get.
Finally back on the bike now. Did a 60 mile road loop today

Originally Posted by zora

ADV salute from the emergency room.



The damage.



The fixxy fix with 16 screws and two plates.



The aftermath.

Three and a half months ago I was racing around a friend's track and went down in a muddy corner. There were probably 20+ boys out there riding with me that day, but who was the one hot on my tail, following too closely to avoid running right over me? My husband. Yep, tore right over my arm on his KTM and snapped it like a twig.

It still doesn't bend much at all yet and I missed out on the whole ice riding season this year.

I'm in PT twice a week and I've gotten pretty darn crafty at doing things with one hand, but it better start flexing soon cuz dirt riding is just around the corner!

[zora]

Originally Posted by Hardhead

I did similar damage to mine

Were you also ran over by your spouse?

Super rad that you are riding already! And a phone to your ear? I can't wait.

So your arm isn't straight yet? Did they have it set at a bend after surgery? I had mine stuck stick straight in a brace for at least a month before my surgeon took my stitches out and said I was allowed to start moving it in PT. He said it is easier to get the bend back than it ever is to obtain straightness, if it doesn't start out that way.

Originally Posted by etingelefunts

My girl offered to do the honors, but the LAST thing I needed was to hear her years from now, reminding me how she use to wipe my damn heine.

Wow. That is true love, right there.

[russbryant]

Originally Posted by zora

So your arm isn't straight yet? Did they have it set at a bend after surgery? I had mine stuck stick straight in a brace for at least a month before my surgeon took my stitches out and said I was allowed to start moving it in PT. He said it is easier to get the bend back than it ever is to obtain straightness, if it doesn't start out that way.

Zora,

Strange how different the treatment is for pretty much the same injury. I was never in a cast or brace with my elbow. I wore a sling in the hospital bed because I had to wait 5 days before my shoulder operation but I kept it unhooked so my arm could lay by my side. Then he had me in PT 3 days after that because they didn't want to much scar tissue to form before PT started.

Pics of my elbow and shoulder are on page 1. I had almost exactly the same scar. Can barely see it now. Your elbow hardware is pretty similar to what I had. Ended up having to get some of the hardware removed because I was not getting any range of motion back. I was able to bend up to around 90 degrees soon after surgery but never got much more than that even after a year of PT. I still have one plate and that long screw that goes all the way through the elbow (first one one the left on your xray).

My PT and I were convinced there just wasn't enough room in the elbow joint with all that metal to bend properly. My Dr said the hardware was not hitting anything to stop the elbow from bending but he removed the hardware and some scar tissue and now I'm pretty close (but not quite 100%) to full range for the bend. It did not help with getting it to being straight. I'm still at about 8 - 10 degrees. It still feels like it gets tight where the left over hardware is. I may end up getting it removed someday but right now it feels good not going to PT after nearly 2 years straight (I broke my right shoulder on this past Labor day and got the ball of the shoulder replaced).

I can tell ya that you will heal up much faster after the hardware removal since you don't have to regrow much bone so once the incisions are healed that's pretty much it. Be aware that they cut me twice as much getting the stuff out as they did putting it in.

Good luck and heal fast. Remember just because you can ride doesn't mean you should ride until you are fully healed. Going down on the arm again would be really bad news.

Russ
Tucson

[Hardhead]

Im sure she felt like running me over though. She said i interrupted a good days shopping.

I was in a 90deg cast for 5 days before to op and 2 wks after. The PT had me in a brace for 6wks adjusting the range every 2 wks. Because i tore 90% of the soft tissue from the bone, they wanted to restrict the rotation of the arm.
I think the hardware does restrict the complete extension a bit.
I only saw the PT every 2 weeks.
Mine was actually the elbow joint in bits and they replaced the radial head so that's there for life.
Surgeon says maybe go back in after the 12 months and do a bit of clean up. That might help that last bit at either end of the range.

Originally Posted by zora

Were you also ran over by your spouse?

Super rad that you are riding already! And a phone to your ear? I can't wait.

So your arm isn't straight yet? Did they have it set at a bend after surgery? I had mine stuck stick straight in a brace for at least a month before my surgeon took my stitches out and said I was allowed to start moving it in PT. He said it is easier to get the bend back than it ever is to obtain straightness, if it doesn't start out that way.



Wow. That is true love, right there.

[zora]

Originally Posted by russbryant

Ended up having to get some of the hardware removed because I was not getting any range of motion back.

Originally Posted by Hardhead

Surgeon says maybe go back in after the 12 months and do a bit of clean up.

These are not things I wanted to hear.

Hope it is okay I keep carrying on about this, on this thread. Although tons of the boys I ride with have bionic parts too, no one has had this injury, so it is really nice to be able to talk to some people who have been in the same boat so I can get more info.

I have faith in how my surgeon went about this, I walked around for ten long days after the accident with the bones dangling and smashing into each other in there just so I could have him do the surgery because I had heard such wonderful things about him. Last time I saw him, he was a little surprised that I have such little motion and said he could maybe go back in and "loosen things up a bit", but I had no idea what he meant. I never even thought of having to get some of this stuff ripped back out. I see him in a few weeks and am going to inquire about that. Of course that is the last thing I want to have to go through, but it sure sounds like it helped you a ton.

Originally Posted by russbryant

Remember just because you can ride doesn't mean you should ride until you are fully healed. Going down on the arm again would be really bad news.

What I read... "blah blah blah".



No. Seriously though. Thanks for all of your input. Really.

[Hardhead]

I think the clean up on my elbow may involve removing some boney bits and scar tissue. I asked about the hardware but he said it will stay unless it causes problems.

Im sure all our injuries are similar but there would be enough difference to warrant different treatment regimes. But then again each surgeon will have their own methods for treating an injury..

Originally Posted by zora

These are not things I wanted to hear.

Hope it is okay I keep carrying on about this, on this thread. Although tons of the boys I ride with have bionic parts too, no one has had this injury, so it is really nice to be able to talk to some people who have been in the same boat so I can get more info.

I have faith in how my surgeon went about this, I walked around for ten long days after the accident with the bones dangling and smashing into each other in there just so I could have him do the surgery because I had heard such wonderful things about him. Last time I saw him, he was a little surprised that I have such little motion and said he could maybe go back in and "loosen things up a bit", but I had no idea what he meant. I never even thought of having to get some of this stuff ripped back out. I see him in a few weeks and am going to inquire about that. Of course that is the last thing I want to have to go through, but it sure sounds like it helped you a ton.





What I read... "blah blah blah".



No. Seriously though. Thanks for all of your input. Really.

[harlan]

Speaking of elbow fractures....this one is mine!



4 months in, I have all the bend back.
The extension though...I don't think I'll ever get back 180°. Good luck you don't really need it for much

[ata]

unfortunately i joined this club seven years ago

[David Shapiro]

Originally Posted by mhpr262

Are the tips of the screws supposed to protrude on the other side of the bone?

Yes. Looks like perfect placement to deal with a difficult fracture. Oh, BTW, I'm an orthopedic surgeon.

David

[FoolHardy]

After seeing some of the carnage in this thread I feel kinda wimpy even posting mine, but it is titanium and was installed by a surgeon after my KLR landed on me in the dirt. For what it's worth did I pick the bike up by myself and rode it 30 miles home. If this counts as admission paid then I humbly request membership into the club.

[Bluebull2007]

Wozers, glad I am not alone!! Some of those pics are horrendous!

This what happened after I stepped off a bike doing a slowish wheelie. Whatever you do, dont lock your leg straight! The result is not dissimilar to being kneecapped by the IRA.