Broken leg/ankle

Jim Sentry · 06-26-2005, 01:23 PM

Sat, 6/25, my wife was carrying some brush from the back of the house to the front.

She slipped and fell and all her body weight landed on her lower left leg and ankle.

At the hospital the Dr inserted 6 or 7 screws through metal plates to straighten the bone out in her lower leg. He then inserted 2 3" screws through metal plates to straighten out her ankle.

Anybody have anything like this done. What's the prognosis, how long to heal.

Is there a term I can google to get more info.

Thanks

ShelbyB · 06-26-2005, 01:46 PM

Which bone(s) were broken? What part of the bone(s) broke?

Jim Sentry · 06-26-2005, 02:03 PM

The bone on the rear of the leg opposite the shin bone. The x-ray showed 6 or 7 screws which were screwed into a metal plate. The screws looked like they were about 1 1/2 inches long. So I assume this bone has been broken in several places.

On the ankle the x-ray shows 2 3 inch screws going thru 2 plates.

Julian Reville · 06-26-2005, 06:10 PM

Sorry about your wife's accident, Jim. The lower leg above the ankle is composed of the two parallel bones, the tibia and the fibula. The tibia is the larger of the two, and the most medial (towards the midline of the body).

The ankle has a LOT of bones, with the larger being the calcaneous (the wide part of the ankle).

Without a picture of the pre and post-op radiographs, it's kind of hard to say what was broken. Generally, if the fractures did not involve a joint, the prognosis is MUCH better. How long to heal will depend on a multitude of factors: age, weight, overall health, stability of the repair, blood supply to the area.

Listen to your surgeon, he/she will tell you EXACTLY how to manage this.

Christ Reynolds · 06-26-2005, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Listen to your surgeon, he/she will tell you EXACTLY how to manage this

hopefully the surgeon doesnt say "jim, about your wife's healing procedures, are you aware of the after hours section of the home theater forum?"

CJ

**HTF Ads**

Joe Fisher · 06-26-2005, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Anybody have anything like this done. What's the prognosis, how long to heal.

On Jan 15, 1996 I broke both my tibia and fibula in my left leg, along with a bone in the ankle. I had several pins & plates inserted to stabilize the leg & ankle during recovery.

In late March 1996 I had some of the pins & plates removed, but some where left in. 1 long screw in the ankle, and 2 plates with 2 screws each in the leg remain.

I was back "walking" without a cast, but used a crutch by the 1st week of May 1996. The first couple of days where tough. I would walk around for a few minutes before having tightness & pain set in. This gradually improved as the days went on before I was able to stand/walk & use my leg for most of the day before any pain set in. I was working part time by Memorial Day, about 2-3 hours a day. Went back full time by July 4th.

Quote:

Listen to your surgeon, he/she will tell you EXACTLY how to manage this.

One important thing. If the surgeon tells your wife to stay off her feet. KEEP HER OFF HER FEET!!!! There is a reason for this. After surgery, depending on what type of cast she has on, usage of the leg may irritate the area where surgery was performed and she runs the risk of infection. Believe me when I got on my feet with the crutches I though I was Jesse Owens and over did it. When the surgeon removed the cast for the 2nd surgery in March and he saw the area irritated when from overuse of the leg, did I get a f**king ear full from him.

Oh. If it itches.....deal with it. It'll drive her nuts, but don't try to scratch it as it may irritate the area.

Thats all I can remember at this point.

Good luck & get well to your wife.

Joe

Jeff Blair · 06-27-2005, 08:29 AM

I had a main talar neck fracture/dislocation(sp?). Mine was the main bone in the ankle. I was off of my foot for about 3 months. They had me in a walking cast after about a month, but I still couldn't put any weight on it. The PT is not going to be fun for her. She will hate it with a vengeance. But, if she does not do it then the legiments will tighten up, and it will be even worse.
I still have my screws in me. My doc said that he would leave them in unless they start bugging me. But, yours might be different. Just do everything that the doc says. And, don't let her do too much too soon. Or it will be worse off in the long run.

Chris Bardon · 06-27-2005, 10:10 AM

Well, I fractured my tibia and fibula pretty badly in a skydiving accident 10 years ago. Ended up with a titanium rod bolted to the bone that got removed a year later. If I remember, I was about 4-5 weeks at zero weight bearing after the surgery, then at 50 lbs for a while. The initial break was in May, the Surgery in Early June, and I was back to normal (including regaining lost muscle mass) by the end of the summer. Couple things to note:

-If it's possible to do anything with the leg to keep up joint flexibility and strength, do it. This is where having a pool in the backyard came in really handy.
-Keeping the leg elevated is a good idea.
-Watch out flr slippery surfaces on crutches. Slipped on mine a couple of times, and it really hurts if you land on the busted leg.

The worst part of the recovery is regaining joint flexibility and strength, which is really bad if there's any sort of immobilization (which it sounds like from your description). If her knee is free, that's something, but the ankle will probably be frozen solid by the time she can put weight on it again. Just keep up with the physio exercises and it should come back though.

Good luck!

Jim Sentry · 06-27-2005, 11:03 AM

Thanks for the info guys.

She was supposed to be discharged this AM, but now they're re-evaluating. So it may be today or tommorrow.

For those of you who had screws and plates put in are you able to pass thru airport security.

Several have told me she will always have to carry a note with her if she ever wishes to fly again.

Is this true or they yanking my chain.

Mary M S · 06-27-2005, 12:00 PM

My SIL had a similar injury. Leaving a restaurant at a Lake, large diameter gravel in the parking lot rolled out from under her medium high-heeled shoe. Falling awkwardly she broke the ankle badly, plates and multiple pins were inserted for the repair. I could ask her for details but as Julian pointed out, your wife’s prognosis is dependent upon many variables.

I do know that it was slow going…. two surgeries…and that my SIL was very good at following Doctors recommendations for PT etc, and eats heathier than most women I know, - yet still had some drawbacks. Unfortunately to this day, (almost 3 years?) she often has swelling in the area when she has been on her feet all days yet never complains. I just had this subject come up with her last week when we attended an outdoor blues concert on the Lake. Part of the audience for these local events consist of boats which pull up; just offshore from the band where we anchor and listen at a distance. Sitting there I noticed her ankle was swollen and you could feel and see a large edema pocket in the area of the injury. I made her dangle her ankle in the lake off the swim transome. I wanted to rig a ice pack for her, but she refused and stated “This was normal” and she’d ice it that evening before bed. She swore there was no pain or discomfort from the swelling which was common for her since the injury.

I would follow instructions to the letter, but be sure she mointers her own progress and asks for a review by medical staff if any questions. Review her diet, - vitamins adequate rest, etc. Everything to give her an edge so that her injury can heal as cleanly as possible.

My SIL had a Doctors recommendation for a certain length of walk at one point in her rehab. She toughed it out for two weeks before her next visit but was very uncomfortable. At the next visit the surgeon revoked the recommendation since her ankle was reacting (very) badly to that exercise at this stage of her recuperation, she had done some damage by cont. the walks. So ask your wife to use her common sense during the process. If she feels the discomfort level is greater than expected, or not as described within normal range of difficulty described by her physician, stop and ASK! My SIL thought she was being a wimp and doggedly continued the walks without a phone call to check if the extreme pain she experinced was normal. If your wife has any questions be sure and encourage her to call in for advise as needed between scheduled apt.’s

My SIL was the most comfortable during the process, with swimming - least pain and advance in healing experinced, most rapidly, after starting a swimming regimen. If you don’t have a home pool I would highly recommend looking into local memberships for the short term, I think it is the least destructive tool during rehab when trying to regain range of motion, without inflaming the region.

I’m so sorry for her accident and best of luck to you both!

PS I'll ask her about the airport, her husbands a pilot, and I know she has flown since this incident, I believe she just just tells them its there. With shoes off, (a common request at airports recently for all passengers) they can see there is nothing hidden...but