Serious question on a clavicle

Pretty simple choices IMHO if you have a big break (feeling bones moving around, can’t raise your arm above your head or put objects into overhead cabinets):

1) Go in and get it plated and be back at work in a week and do some basic PT to build range of motion and strength. Very little if any issues 2-3 weeks down the road and in the future.

2) randomly tape/sling it and be useless for a month or two while it heals and probably looks f’ed up and maybe not have range of motion and other issues.

3) Do neither of the above and just drink/medicate and “let it heal on its own”. probably loose lots of range of motion, weight bearing/lifting capabilities and generally screw up your arm and shoulder for the rest of your life.

Pretty straightforward options that any medical dr will tell you.

mine was in a few pieces so I plated mine. Was good to go pretty quickly with some basic PT and very few if any issues today (10 years).

your choice, make it a good one.

 

Cap’n Morgan: I am an orthopedic surgeon with 25 years experience. I know the literature. I plate clavicles. When I fractured mine at Daytona, I just hooked my thumb in my pocket and went about my business. “Almost “all of them heal without a problem. You get a lump where the fracture was and that is about it. A small minority of people will unite the fracture in a shortened position which would justify surgery to Bring it back to its normal length. You are not burning any bridges by not treating it, and is likely you will have an excellent result. On occasion, the clavicle will go on to what is known as a nonunion in which the bone heals with scar tissue in between the fragments which is usually painless, but if not can also be repaired at a later date of your choosing.

Figure of eight straps, taping and arm slings have been shown to NOT have any effect on how well or in what position the clavicle heals. There is no need for an arm sling except for your own comfort. I would predict that in a couple of weeks the bone cracking feeling will disappear as a fracture becomes “sticky”and you will be able to raise your arm above your head as the pain remits over the next three weeks. Don’t have surgery unless you need to race motogp next week. And don’t worry about your subclavian artery. You had a low energy injury.

 

^^^ What he said^^^

 

Any chance you could get Ginger and Maryann to cover for you for a few days?
Have you checked with the Professor? That son of a bitch can make a shortwave
radio out of 2 coconuts and a sea urchin, maybe he can come up with something clever.

 

Well, what's the point of asking for medical advice on the BBS if you're gonna get actual medical device? People come here for street knowledge, man.

 

Wouldn’t plating it get him back in motion faster than letting it heal on its own over a longer period? He did say he needed it fixed ASAP to be as functional as possible quickly. Asking, not arguing.

 

Went to a specialist today, broke in a pretty bad spot, basically said it could heal or could not compared to other places more towards the center but it is close to the breast bone. Got an imobilizer sling but the owners come in 6 days, and I'm going to have to take the sling off to work and sleep with it while they are here for 8 days. Not an ideal way to help it heal but not many options for now. If it gives me problems in the future they are just going to have to rebrake it and plate it

 

No way that shit heals correctly without surgery

 

A real man would have sawn the arm off, seared it shut and finished cooking dinner all with the same knife.

Chopper says you need a prescription of "Harden the fuck up."

 

I hope you told him you'd check with your medical team and get back to him.

I recommend a mustard plaster and a hot Vick's enema, that'll set anybody straight.

 

Rub some 'tussin on it.

 

I have this and I say get it plated
(Too good to post in only one thread)

 

Show off.

 

Did you get that certificate on the same site for service dogs, sorry (emotional support animals) or to become an ordained minister???

 

Shit, just get 3/4" wide piece of flat steel about 6 inches long(stainless is better), a drill, a helper who isn't squeamish, some stainless self tapping sheet metal screws, and a whole lot of Rum.
Step 1, drink rum, maybe to point of passing out. Have helper do the following
Step 2, pour rum over outside of collar bone, screws, plate, etc. etc.
Step 3, drill holes in plate at 1" intervals
Step 4, align bone so it mates with the other end properly
Step 5, get helper to drill 1 hole in short end of bone. (not too deep) Thread in first screw through plate and bone. (hole in bone is so you don't split it when screwing in screws)
Step 6, align bone end to end, and repeat step 5. repeat 3 more times. (5 screws total)
Step 7, poor more rum on plate, and bandage up
Step 8, drink more rum.

You now have an externally fixated collar bone that will hold up for the next few weeks, until you can fix it correctly, or it heals enough that you can pull the screws out in a month.

Profit!

 

I find it rewarding when roughly 10 people say "go to the doctor and get it fixed or looked at" and the OP basically flat refuses... Then someone posts "I'm an orthopedic surgeon with 25yrs" who broke his own and basically said "it'll be fine on it's own" is the straw that broke the camels back and prompts the OP to go get medical attention.......

 

Skip the bandaging and "Flex Seal" that shit so you can shower without rusting.

After the screws are removed repack the holes with JB Weld.

 

let them fix it, a day of surgery, and plates, you are back to work in a week, or less depending on your paint tolerance. dont let that heal on its own, you will ALWAYS HAVE ISSUES WITH THAT SIDE. you will have a lump, sore spot, shortened clavical length, and mobility.

think about it like zip ties on body work... crash it, zip it, get back out riding. no healing needed, for the most part, if you act accordingly.

IMHO, if you leave it, U R dum. Ski

 

Reverse steps 2 and 3 and I think you're good.

 

Difficult to say based on only one x-ray, but it looks like the medial head of the clavicle has dislocated or partially dislocated (subluxated) from its joint with the manubrium (the upper part of the sternum). The actual fracture, (just lateral to the joint) is well aligned. We usually get a ct scan to evaluate it further, but in your case it wouldn’t change how it would be treated.

Surgeryy to relocate i.e. put back in place a medial clavicular dislocation universally fails, and the major vessels in the chest are right behind it, so there is Some danger to operate on it, and the results are universally poor, with the ligaments torn, the joint becomes arthritic and/or remains unstable. The best thing to do with that is to leave it alone, and if, say,6 to 12 months from now it is chronically painful than the treatment is to resect i.e. remove the medial portion of the clavicle (1-2 cm) where the joint is and rely just on the ligaments to generally hold it in place. I don’t think any surgeon would recommend operative intervention for it at this time. Just go ahead and use your arm within limits of your comfort. You are doing the right thing by leaving it alone.