Plate or no plate

t500 is correct. my ortho went over it a lot and said any time you cut your skin you risk having an infection and it can be very bad. but it's the same as cutting your foot when you are in a river as far as the odds to have an infection. IMHO one benefit of where I got mine plated was I didn't have to go to the hospital, my ortho had their own facility and does it "in house". I really didn't want to deal with a "hospital" and the infections that seem to spring up there... (resurgens ATL)

as for the plate vs. heal, PLATE all the way. Mine sticks up a bit and can cause issues with backpacking or having things rub on it, but the recovery was weeks instead of months and no real side affects compared to friends who just let theirs heal that have shoulders that are "off", range of motion, bones sticking up, etc.

 

oh yeah I forgot, chicks dig scars.

 

Ah er.. I would always take the (good) hospital route. Or at a minimum have a good hospital like a block away. Rare but if something goes wrong, that local clinic can NOT help you. They do NOT have the doctors or the equipment. Happened to a pal of mine.. almost died but did lose a bunch of brain cells when they screwed up his simple operation. He had to relearn a lot of things.

Ron

 

tim tilghman was out for a year with the oozing gash from a collar bone surgery too.

it was definitely nasty.

 

true. my surgeon is attached (literally) to a large well known hospital in the ATL area, but they run their own program. as they say, anything can go wrong with anesthesia or infections. that's usually the two biggest worries, from what I was told pre op.

 

i broke my collarbone last ccs round, and was on a dirt bike in 4 weeks. NO plate. But, there was almost no displacement. it was a long fracture and the bones although not perfectly aligned, were pretty darn in line. I felt it not moving in about 3 weeks. I just roadraced this past weekend after woods riding for the past 3 weeks. No real issues.

there are good articles on the pros/cons of plating a collarbone. most orthos won't suggest it unless there is significant displacement, or a 7mm or more overlap from what i read/hear. If we were pro big $ a year athletes and had to get on the bike next week, yea. Or if there was displacement that would affect the healing in a negative way, highly consider surgery.. but there are real risks with any surgery.

 

I've had a similar injury - broken collar bone and 4 fractured ribs. I went with a pin for the collar bone. Couple months to heal and it was pulled. No loss of strength, motion or length.:P

Just giving an alternative to a plate. I can't speak for others, but the thought of a permanent piece of metal in my body didn't jive with me. I would take the pin over the plate any day if it was an option.

 

Yep.
I am firmly in the "no surgery unless absolutely necessary" camp. Heard (and seen) too many cases gone wrong I guess.

 

If Not Urgent Urgent I would go natural process

 

I have lots of displacement and the bone was "comminuted" (ie lots of pieces). Im gonna schedule the plate and continue to weigh the pros/cons up until the day (which might be Thursday).

Thanks for everyones input and advice!

 

Chrome or nickle? I would go with chrome

 

I was in the no plate crowd (I have one) but after my last crash where I landed squarely on my shoulder I am tempted to say the plate prevented me from another broken collarbone. The bone stung for a few days but no fracture. I think it would be another story if it had not been plated. YMMV.

 

get the plate!!!! a sister of mine broke her collarbone 1 1/2 years ago,and its still not healed like the docs said it would do on its own.now shes going back and forth with insurance about paying to get a surgery done now,so long after the dirty bike crash.you can always get the plate taken out if you want to down the road.

 

Well my healed portion of the CB IS 2x as thick now, lead to another fracture in the lateral side of the bone. (Downhill mtb) That one got no plate either but here were a lot of supporting muscles and bands inside to keep everything in place

 

+1 for the plate.

gives you the structural integrity to heal up without worrying about it getting damaged again.

Infection is a resk, but comparatively low overall.

 

We tried to let my right collar bone heal, but after a month or two of nothing, had it plated. On left collar bone, when saw specialist a few days after it broke, we scheduled surgery the following Monday.

 

WWJD???


No no, not Jesus. What Would Jorge Do?


Plate dat bitch!

My dad's shoulder is all lumpy and low and weird, and that was from like 100 years ago. Before surgery and stuff.

 

Plating is better, to properly realign the shoulder and joint. If you don't plate it, and the collarbone heals with a deficit in the length, (and it will) you'll end up with problems with the shoulder capsule on that side. Plate it. I had one of the orthopods here at Duke put a long threaded screw down the length of my collarbone, and after 90 days, they made about a half-inch incision on the outer edge of my shoulder and merely 'unscrewed' the bolt. I still have it laying around somewhere. Plate it. You'll be glad you did.

 

plate

just had a plate installed 2 weeks ago, broken clavical
mine was comminuted,
lots small pieces so l had no choice but a plate and 8 screws
every cyclist l talked too said plate it asap,
mines pretty screwed and in a sling for another 5 weeks

good luck and heal up

 

all this talk of plates and no photos?? I'm dissapointed (and can't find photos right now)...