So on Tuesday, I’m sitting at my orthopedic surgeon 11 month follow up appointment nervous as all hell.
Why? Because I’m waiting to see if my surgeon is on board with taking this icky painful hardware out of my leg. He walks in, a man of tall stature and rather easy on the eyes too. He greets my boyfriend and I with a handshake and asks me “So tell me what’s been going on?” He sits down on his medical stool and props his elbow on the counter cupping his face with his hand. All relaxed and shit.
And I’m sitting here like…
I begin mentally racing through all the questions and issues I had memorized in my mind for today’s visit. Suddenly, I go blank. WTF! Focus Sherri. Focus. Why don’t I ever write this shit down?
So I begin by telling him “This metal in my leg is so painful. It hurts every time I walk. I feel like it’s limiting my function and mobility. I really believe if it’s out of my leg, that my leg will feel like my own again.”
To which he replies, “Show me where it hurts.”
I wrestle to get my skinny pant leg up over my fat leg to show him that the pain is mostly located on the lateral (outside) part of my left leg where the long plate is. I point to it and say “It feels sore and like bees stinging when I walk or something touches it. I can’t walk for more than 5 minutes without pain and shin splints.”
Hmm let’s see what else could I say to convince him I don’t want this hardware in my leg anymore? Oh yeah, “I’m grateful to you and the metal for doing me a solid over the last year, but it’s time for it to go.”
He laughs.
He touches it and comments “Yep, it looks red and irritated.” All the while as he is touching it, I feel tiny bee stings inside my leg. Ouch! He has me do some flexion and extension then looks at me and says “Ok. Let’s go ahead and take it out. How soon do you want it out?”
Wait! What? Did he just say what I thought he said? Christ on stick! Thank you Jesus!
Before I get too excited, he looks at the scar on the back of my knee. “The hardware on this side is more complicated to get out because it’s buried deep in there, I could remove it, but there’s more risks involved and I prefer to leave it in there.”
Crap! I wanted it all out but thought a minute about what he was really saying.
I could press him to have it all out, and be at risk for more complications, or I could have the side out that causes me the most grief. Deep down I kinda knew that he wouldn’t want to touch the hardware he put behind my knee. There are a lot of neurovascular structures that he would have to cut through to get to the hardware. So I guess I will just have to accept what he is offering and hope that it’s only the long plate and screws that are bothering me.
Sold! Having more than half out is better than none.
I’m tentatively scheduled to have it out on May 24th, 2018 pending insurance approval and not getting bumped from the schedule due to any trauma emergencies. My surgeon is chief of orthopedic trauma surgery at the hospital.
In the meantime, I will continue to exercise my leg at work and continue with walking for exercise and rehab.
It’s coming up on the one year anniversary of our horse riding accident which happened on May 20, 2017. My boyfriend’s mother comes every year around Mother’s Day to visit and Terry and I make a trip from Fort Lauderdale to Tampa to visit with his mother at his brother’s house for a long weekend. This year, there’ll be no horseback riding of any kind as his mom had a metal rod placed down her broken femur at the same time I had my external fixator placed the day after the accident. We were besties in pre op and recovery.
She subsequently had to have two more surgeries after that. One was a total hip replacement since they didn’t see she had broken it the first go round, then she had another to remove some cement that came loose after her THR.
I doubt any of us will be up for walking around any theme parks either, but at least if we did that, we could stop for rest periods. It’s probably safer to just hang out at the pool, tape some solo cups to our walkers and play wine pong.
As always, I’ll update after surgery #3. Happy healing TPF friends!
Thanks for this update, Sherri! I suffered a TPF in February and your insights and thoughts have helped me stay sane thru this long journey! Good vibes for surgery as planned and the best possible outcome 🙂
Thank you so much. I’m sorry you have to endure this crap injury and I wish you a blessed recovery.
Hi Sherri,
My x-ray looks much like yours. Mine happened 4 years ago and I’m SICK of the pain! I run and hike and stuff but my leg has a mind of it’s own and dictates what I can do. I made an appointment with my OS this month and hope he thinks the hardware removal will help. Like you, my pain is mostly on the outside and right below that big knob on the top outside. Hope your removal goes well and it solves your issues.
Hi Rick. I’d agree with you on looking into hardware removal. Why should we have to live with the pain of this hardware in our knee/leg for the rest of our lives? Especially, after it’s healed the HW serves no purpose. Like you, I don’t think I could have gone 4 years with this pain. Of course, some people have no HW pain,and that’s all well and good for them, but many of us suffer from HW pain and although no one want to endure another surgery, the benefits far outweigh the risks. At least that’s how I felt in my case.
Luckily, I didn’t have to persuade my surgeon very hard for the removal. Maybe because I was so matter of fact about what I wanted and where the pain was coming from. My surgeon also listened to my concerns and didn’t brush them off like some surgeons do.I think you should explore the possibly of HWR. They say the longer the HW is in the harder it is to get out, so don’t wait to get it checked out. Whatever you decide, I wish you the best.
My surgery went well and I plan on doing an update post about in the very near future.
Hello Sherri
I too have a TPF. I fell from a ladder and landed on my left leg. My knee shattered in more than 30 pieces, Bone graft, and 2 plates with 16 screws.
The surgeon performed a 2 incision Fasciotomy to save my leg. I had the external fixator for 3 weeks.
Stayed in the hospital for a week and 2weeks in a convalescent facility. 3 surgery’s.
I’m at the 6 month mark, I can walk with out crutches or cane. I like you wondered if I would ever walk again. To everyone, it will just take time.
Hi Ray. I’m so sorry for your injury. Wow, yeah it sound like that fall did a number on your knee/leg. Fasciotomy and external fixators are so gruesome! Luckily, I was able to avoid the fasciotomy. You’ve certainly been through the wringer, but sounds like you came out the other side stronger. I tend to think everyone who suffers this injury wonder’s if they will every walk again. It’s definitely something I won’t ever take for granted again. As shitty as this injury was/is, it has humbled me in so many ways. Happy healing to ya Ray!
Hi Sherri my name’s Amanda and I suffered a TPF just 8 weeks ago. I fell over and my knee twisted in the way and that was me in agony. I was admitted to hospital and that same night had an x eternal fixator put on under General anaesthesia. The pain was very very bad for days afterwards and I had to have strong pain medication. The swelling in my leg was extremely bad. Two weeks on I had the orif surgery and had a few pins and plates fitted. I then got put into a knee brace which was fitted at an angle to stop me moving my knee. I also damaged my nerves badly so I still have swelling 6 weeks post surgery and I have been told I’ll probably have a condition called drop foot because of the damaged nerves. As well as the orif surgery at the same time the surgeon worked for 2 hours to fix my nerve back into the right place because it was so out of place. So as well as having to cope with my fracture I have nerve damage and I am now in plaster above and below my knee with hinges attached. I am allowed more flexion in my knee now and I am getting physiotherapy and knee exercises. It has been a long road so far and I am still in pain some days. Like you I am terrified of hurting my knee again. I am using crutches to move around but the swelling gets so bad I have to lie and elevate my foot. I keep wondering will it ever get better. Will I ever walk again? My knee is sore where the metal work is. I am now 6 weeks post surgery and have been in plaster brace for 3 weeks and will be for another 6 weeks till my next appointment. He says the longer the better off my feet to let things heal. The nerves may heal but my surgeon doesn’t seem confident. I am so happy for you that you are on the other side of your accident and reading your post has been very encouraging. Thankyou xxx
Hi Mandy, I’m so sorry to hear about your injury and subsequent complications. I know it seems very bad now, this is a life changing injury and you are in the worst part of your recovery period, but it does and WILL get better. The one thing that I have learned through all of this, is as well meaning as our surgeons are, they don’t know everything, and are proven to be wrong time and time again by their determined patients. Focus less on what they are telling you what may or may not come to be, and focus 100% on your recovery. Trust me, you will walk again. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but you will look back on this one day and find yourself a strong survivor of a TPF! Please keep me posted on your recovery and I wish you all the best. Now get out there and make your own recovery success story, don’t let your surgeon write it for you. That’s an order!
Hi, Sherri.
I was hit by a pick-up that took a left turn into me while I was on a bike (in broad daylight, wearing helmet, following rules of road, etc.), two years ago. TPF/shattering of right knee. Just had hardware removal, 2 plates and 12 pins, June 2018. What you said about PTSD-like symptoms rings very true. Came upon your blog while looking for psych. support for TPF; your story helps. Thanks. Taking your experience and advice to heart, esp. the story about the older man you met on the beach. Nice nature pix, by the way. Blog on and thanks, S.
Henry
April 7th, 2017, I was knocked down by a vehicle driving against traffic when I was crossing the road to my office. I had an ORIF surgery on April 9th, 2017 for the completed fractured right tibia, a long plate and 8 screws was inserted.
Now 18months after, surgery for hardware removal was done cause it affected movement and caused pains when I walked for long. Surgery was done on the 5th October 2018. I just wanted to share this for those who think they might never walk again, healing and recovery starts from the mind, accept the present situation and take each day at a time. Try to make the best of the situation and time will fly without you knowing how it did.
It wouldn’t be easy, but that’s life.
Note, after first surgery, I started walking with one crutch 10 weeks post op, and without any in less than a week after that.
Hi Henry, I really believe having partial HWR was the best thing for me. My leg feels and holds up so much better. Wish I could have had it all removed, but it just wasn’t in the cards for me. And yes a positive attitude with this injury does wonders! Hope you are doing well with your post HWR recovery.
THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR EXPERIENCES. You’re an encouragement to many!
Thank you so much for sharing your story. I was in Belize last week, kiteboarding, and had a “kite-mare” where I slammed down with my left foot stuck in the board.My surgery is scheduled for the 20th-21st of this month. I’m really scared, and in constant pain-from my piriformus to my calf…and of course the knee. Reading your blog about this, was so-so helpful and encouraging…and funny. I am at the beginning of this long journey. Thank you
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, as bad as it was, I am so glad to hear you are doing so much better and bless you with continued health and strength in your leg. I have been searching everywhere on the big “I” for answers to my pain. I have gotten no answers from my surgeon except “don’t sweat the small things” and “stop looking at the Internet”. While I must say there have been some worry some things (mainly thinking I have compartment syndrome, which he said is to late for that. That is how I came upon your post.
I fractured my Tibia (knocked a chunk off the inside left leg) and Tibial Plateau 8 weeks ago, surgery 7 weeks ago. One plate and 4 screws, after reading this I feel blessed to have only that much hardware. He said he couldn’t get to my TP without risking damage somewhere else. He was going to add bone, but decided not to fix it. I am still having a ton of pain, with severe tingling, numbness, bee stinging pain, swollen knee, etc, etc. I can still only straighten leg to 4 degrees and bend to 59 degrees. My knee is so tight, I do PT 2 time week plus work on it a ton at home. It aches all the time. I feel that I should have progressed further, mon weight bearing for at least 10 weeks and possibly more when I go back in 2 weeks. I’ve never had anything broken before so nothing to gauge healing time with. After reading your post, I’m going to settle in for the long haul and be patient and work on it like you have, to the best of my ability to get back to as normal as possible. I thought 8-10 weeks meant I could start walking again, not gonna happen😭 I am almost 59 with a 13 and 5 year old. It has been tough with the kids not to be able to do anything for or with them. This has been hard, but totally humbling and I will never take anything for granted again, even as simple as washing dishes, going to the bathroom by myself, cleaning, playing catch with my kids, oh so many things. Thanks again for your post, it has given me a ton of encouragement and hope. God Bless You.