I came off my bike 13 years ago and broke my collar bone. It ended up not healing correctly as a non union the result being I have a big lump in the middle of collar bone. After years of no problems it’s started causing trouble. Today I saw a specialist with a view to possibly having an operation and get it pinned and plated. The consultant pointed out the possible complications (nerve and vein damage near the shoulder) and how that even though my shoulder isn’t brilliant at the moment it could after the op, be worse. Has anyone been in a similar situation and had the op and what difference has it made?

I have recently had the ligaments torn in one shoulder, that’s resulted in a high spot on the top. All the doctors and specialists have recommended me not to have corrective surgery because of the risks you have been informed about.

I severely fractured and displaced my right clavicle last June, I had no option but to have an operation to fit a plate with a hook, I was lucky I had private healthcare with work, otherwise I would of had to wait a week with an almost compound fracture. I’ve heard horror stories similar to yours, lumps and drop shoulders etc, my shoulder (touch wood) is totally flat, and xray shows a perfect union of the bone, the plate comes out late Feb so time will tell. What I will say is the plate is quite uncomfortable, I can’t sleep on my right side, movement is restricted, and I think the hook gets caught on tendons or nerves, all manageable with a whisky or nurofen plus.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

5 years ago I broke my clavicle very close to my sternum (where its almost the thickest part of the bone)and now I have a “soft” joint.
I was also recommended not to have surgery due to the risks you mention along with superbugs etc.

My shoulder aches a bit in the wetter/colder months and I try to do a few exercises with dumbbells and press-ups etc.
Have you thought about seeing a physio and seeing what they recommend?

One thing that I noticed a big difference in is the comfort factor of carbon bars.

Get it done, investigate Private, you’d be surprised how reasonable it might be, my bill for surgery was around £2K, you’ll need to add on xrays and physio etc. Price of a top spec bike at the end of the day, and no worries re: superbugs.

Thanks for the replies. I’ve not thought about seeing a physio, I’ll be asking my sister (a physio) about that one. Bloody shoulders!

I broke my clavical 4 and a bit years ago, it rotated and split up a bit so I was recommended an operation. It was plated and screwed. I’m little so the plate was and still is very obvious. If I move my shoulder in a particular way you can make out the screw heads countersunk in the plate! I have issues wearing seat belts and some rucsacs and can’t wear a baby sling unless it’s well padded above the plate. When my daughter was very tiny with little head control I wouldn’t carry her on that side in case she nutted the plate!

As for nerve damage I am numb on the surface of the skin (a bit like when you go to the dentist) below the length of the scar and into my arm pit. I never notice it unless I’m looking to check if it’s still numb. I did get pins and needles a bit for a short while but that went. Feeling is gradually returning but to be honest it doesn’t matter.

I could have the plate removed but at the moment I still like the shock factor when people see, also the screw holes can take up to 9 months to heal which would result in a weak bone for a while.

Other than that my repaired side is better than the other. It does drop slightly when i’m tired but that’s cos I got lazy with the physio.

A lot of the answers relate to ORIF’s immediately after breakage which is not the same as your situation. Yours is fixed, just wonkily.

I had mine plated after breaking the same bone in the same place twice. It broke again 12 months later as it hadn’t healed properly initially. I only had it plated as I’d booked 4 months off work to go on a long tour and there was no way I was missing that!

I would think very carefully about going through the procedure unless I really, really had to. It isn’t very nice at all and there is a real risk of complications (I had a DVT). Unless you are in real pain and it’s really buggering up whatever it is you are wanting to do, go without.

the general feeling among the docs is that if it’s in one piece, then leave it, however, if it’s in two pieces after 13 years, then it’s also possible you’ll need a bone graft to get the two ends of your collar bone to unite.

I’d leave it to be honest.

I had the op 2 years ago, and the risks are real. I no longer have any feeling in my right shoulder (everything works fine, but it’s completely numb) due to the surgeon slicing a few nerves in the first op. happily he didn’t do any further damage.

just as an fyi I don’t have any medical qualifications whatsoever, just experience of this injury.

crash hard and get it done quick!! My mates brother races MX and only got his straight on the 3rd attempt

The answer is it depends on a lot of things. Specialist might have most of the answers so are probably your best bet.

I knew I shouldn’t have read this thread just now, my wife is undergoing surgery this morning for this very procedure.

My brother had his lump caused by a misaligned collar bone break operated on. They thinned the bone to remove the very obvious lump and stuck a plate over the area affected.

Next time he crashed hard enough to break a collar bone the bone snapped at the end of the plate where it was weakest 🙁

Think he’s now had the whole plate removed to even out the stress. Whether he’d recommend plating it or not remains to be seen 🙂

Well, whatcha doing OP? Having it cut out or…?

rewski – Member

Get it done, investigate Private,…………..and no worries re: superbugs.

Tehre is no MRSA in private hospitals?

Mine was private (over £4k!). When it all went wrong (DVT), I was rushed into the local NHS hospital for them to put it right.

The only thing you get with private is the choice to have the opp, the NHS won’t always grant you this. Care via the NHS, was exemplary.