I am seeing a doctor, two actually, and am just trying to get a better handle on the situation.
I’m trying to keep the story short so I’ll just do it as point.
Broke Ulna (the outer bone in the forearm).
Saw PCP and he didn’t think it was broken.
Still hurt 2 weeks later saw PCP Xray shows fracture.
2 weeks later I’m stupid and I hurt it some more.
Try to see PCP but he’s on vacation so PA sees me and refers me to Orthopedist.
See Orthopedist and he gives me splint that goes past elbow to wear except when showering.
3 weeks later see Orthopedist he says let’s go 3 more weeks.
3 Weeks later Orthopedist says we need to move forward and try it without the splint.
4 weeks later see Orthopedist and he says the callus is not bridging the gap and suggests surgery to repair.
After 3-1/2 months I think this is probably a good idea and schedule surgery.
See PCP to get pre-op check and he thinks surgery is not a good idea for something that shouldn’t need it.
My PCP says I’ll be out of commision for a while, he says probably 6 weeks. At this point I’ve been out of commision for almost 4 months. The only improvement I see is it mostly hurts less unless I move it wrong or try to pick up something. Frankly I just want to be done with it.
It sounds like your PCP and Orthopedist are not on the same page. If it was really healing by 3 and a half months , you should be feeling much less pain, and you should be working to restrengthen it with a physical therapist.
I had surgery after my forearm broke, but the Orthopedic Surgeon gave it about 5 weeks to heal on its own with a cast in place. A hard cast to prevent re injury. After that, it had not healed, and was still in pain, so I was told in no uncertain terms that I had to have surgery. Of course, he showed me the x rays, and explained why in detail.
The surgery went fine, but a cast was on for an additional 6 weeks, and then I had about 4 months of physical therapy. The whole thing was hell, but you need to get someone to tell you what is going on with your arm, and what your options may be.
Get a new PCP or a new insurance policy that doesn’t require one. Also get surgery. IANA doctor but it sounds like a case I heard of where the facture will never heal. I think you might be able to sue your PCP also. He failed to diagnose a broken bone, then recommended against surgery that would have repaired the damage is method failed to improve. I hope you aren’t dependent on him to get insurance to cover the surgery, which you should get done right away.
If you’re really unsure, get a second opinion from another orthopedist. Going in, if you’re worried the ortho will just want to make money off your operation, tell that doctor that this is a second opinion and you will be more likely than not going back to your original orthopedist.
But yeah, I’m coming down on the “surgery” end of things.
You get the surgery now and it’s fixed. Some bones don’t grow together. More time can make it more difficult. The surgical assist takes care of it. Disclaimer: all surgery has some risk of infection and more.
In my own case, broken bones have taken a maximum of three weeks to heal. I have started running in as little as ten days with broken metatarsals. Two years ago I broke a fibula and the three week model did not work. I kept using the leg and it took three months to heal, but surgery was not an option to speed the repair.
Why does the PCP think the surgery isn’t a good idea? “shouldn’t need it” by what definition?
Yeah, a broken ulna usually doesn’t need surgery; on the other hand, it usually HEALS by now. By definition, something else needs to be done!! What the hell is the PCP thinking you should do? cast it longer or something???
By the way: have you been using NSAIDs of any sort? Ibuprofen, naproxen, Voltaren / diclofenac or anything of the sort? If so, you may need to stop. I posted this in a thread a few months back, but when I broke my foot the ortho told me not to take ibuprofen because there’s evidence that NSAIDS can interfere with bone healing.
I did some more googling and it sounded like it was only an issue (for humans) for people who take a constant dose, and maybe not for all NSAIDs, but I figured I’d throw that out there.
I wound up using Tylenol (some T3 and some regular OTC) for pain.
Bone healing anecdotes: my son had a nasty break in his upper arm - HAD to be pinned under surgery. His cast was off after 4 weeks. My foot, while still healing, was well enough after 10ish weeks to discard the orthopedic boot; the ortho says that’s typical. It’s probably not 100% healed (I’m to add activities slowly and carefully) 3 months later, but close.
I was hoping Quadgop would reply. Unfortunately I was starting to feel more comfortable about the surgery until he did. Now I have to see if I can find a second opinion.
Flores, what was the big issue with the rehab? Was it an issue with the break or was there something to do with the surgery?
Tripolar, since my insurance is through work I don’t have a choice to get a new insurance policy. I don’t blame my PCP for not diagnosing the fracture on the first visit since when he offered to have it X-rayed I declined since I didn’t think it hurt as much as a break should as well.
Ferret Herder, thanks for the idea.
Everyone else that replied, thank you. You have all given me stuff to think about.
Broke my wrist several years ago. It was a break that “may” have healed on its own, according to the surgeon but he, of-course, recommended I go under the knife.
My wrist has never been the same. I now have pins that I can feel on the outside of my wrist and it gets sore and aching really easily.
I would definitely recommend a second opinion (which I didn’t do and should have). While the surgery itself and the recovery were a piece of cake, I would not choose to do the same today. Now I’m stuck with almost daily pain. Cie la vie.
BOY this is only my opinion and IANAD but…
People think that in this day and age, if you throw enough money at it (insurance) you can make everything new again.
Not so. You broke your arm. Slightly. Four weeks later (a month, your body’s going into scab mode by now) you’re told the ends of the broken bones aren’t meeting (joining, bridging.) { Shaking my head}. It wasn’t a compound fracture, right? Did they say How Far Apart the ends are? (It could be milimeters.) You’re arm is probably weak, understandably so. If it isn’t humping out under the skin and making you look funny, let it go. Give it time to heal on it’s own. It may take a long while. But (IANAD, just a survivor of child abuse with undiagnosed/untreated injuries) the body heals itself over time. And is stronger for it. A healed broken arm becomes stronger than a regular one. If you have surgery they may get those bones to meet, but then that arm is two inches shorter than the other one? OTOH if you let nature take it’s course it will eventually mesh, and work just fine as long as you don’t try to twist the doorknob with that hand. (Listen, an injury is an injury that you have to adapt to. Suck it up. I’m sorry, I’m just had to say that. You got to GO to doctors.)
Don’t expect magic and a perfect heal. You broke a bone. Be proud and point it out now and then. Nobody will care but you’ll know you came thru it.
Flores, what was the big issue with the rehab? Was it an issue with the break or was there something to do with the surgery?
I broke the radius as well, near the wrist. The cast was on for the first five weeks, and because it had not healed… surgery- with pins and a plate, wrapped, and then casted a second time. I was in a cast for about three months! The hand was affected, even my arm all the way up to the shoulder.
I think it had to do with the length of time it was casted, without being able to move it. The surgery is what fixed the breaks, so it was the right thing to do. Rehab got the hand and arm strong again.
Have you discussed using a bone stimulator ? If it is appropriate, it may help heal and is less invasive then surgery. If it is not appropriate, I bet second opinion Ortho guy recommends surgery also.
Fail for reading comprehension. It has been 3 1/2 months, not just 4 weeks. There should not be any gap at all by this time. And why in the world do you think they would take a couple of inches off of his bones when all they really need to do is place teh ends together and add some pins to keep them there. They might take a few millimetres off to get a smooth join, but that will not be any more noticeable then the already existing differences between his arm lengths.
Oh and while the bone is stronger after it heals from a break, it is only at the point of the actual break. The entire bone is not stronger. Unless you advocate breaking the arm every couple centimetres, it is not a good way to strengthen bones.
It might heal by itself with time, it might not. I broke my tibia and fibula in 1997, and the doc recommended bone grafting surgery (in addition to the plate, screws, external fixator, etc. - it was a hell of a fracture) when the bone had hardly healed at all after several months. I didn’t want more surgery, so decided to wait. I had actually scheduled the surgery, several months after that, when at the very last minute the ortho decided there had been enough healing that the surgery wasn’t worth it. But that was going on a year after the original break! Here we are, 14 years later, and there are still gaps in the bone that can easily be seen on X-rays. And my “healed” broken leg is sure as hell the worse for wear; I am told I will probably be a candidate for ankle replacement down the line.
Bodies sometimes need help healing, and a board-certified orthopedic surgeon should be the one to make that call.
If you trust your surgeon completely, go for it. But if you harbor any doubts (and your post made you sound like you do), a 2nd opinion should help you decide what’s right for you.
Dang! I just typed up a big reply to everyone else who had replied and my phone shut down the browser, losing it. I’ll type it up again In the morning when I have a full keyboard. Thanks for all the info to think about.
