As if Swelper’s unhappy experience wasn’t enough, Stuck in an italian hospital, the very next day I did this to myself. Off to the fracture clinic tomorrow, expecting a long lay-off…

😐

Healing vibes

Lol, we did do some damage on that holiday for sure. Ho hum a few to dine out on in the future

Just coming back from similar and disdmy first proper ride today after 55 days, acupuncture and Chinese cups really helped !e in regards to recovery.
I also used a brace for the first 6 weeks which although a little uncomfortable, helped me to cope.
Good luck with the recovery.

I’m a bit surprised to have been sent home for 3 weeks to see how it goes, after the Italian doctor said that it needs an operation. If I had stayed they would have been doing it tomorrow.

That’s the NHS for you, sadly

That’s the NHS for you, sadly

Stop it.

Its got to be better to give it a chance to heal than be cut open. A couple of days in hospital, risk of infection etc.
I’m no doctor but they don’t like putting metalwork close to the joint , I had my collarbone bound together with stitches due to the closeness to the joint which meant 6 weeks in a non removable tight sling after the op.

Also worth noting, after dislocating my shoulder twice in a race the French doctor prescribed 6 weeks in a sling then physio. The U.K. Doctor wanted to start physio straight away and told me to bin the sling. Recovery was very quick.

Curiously, they Leave it to heal naturally but then try to save money by not providing a proper brace, thereby reducing the chance of it healing naturally. They did, however, admire the brace provided by the Italian hospital and advised me to keep wearing it. “They must have a bigger budget than us”, said the nurse.

A couple of days in hospital, risk of infection etc.

Vancouver lions gate hospital had me in plated with 7 screws and out again in about 4.5 hours.

I had a badly broken/displaced clav this time last year. With hindsight, I’d advise to push-push-push for surgery as soon as possible after the accident. I wish I had, but at the time, I was in such a mess with a broken sternum, several fractured ribs and not a lot of skin left, so I just accepted the fob-off and went home.

I was completely immobile for 3 months, and after I’d accepted the initial advice to “wait and see” (the consultant was a ditherer and couldn’t make his mind up), none of the other consultants I saw wanted to contradict what the first guy said.

I ended up getting passed between 8 different consultants and 3 different hospitals before they finally sent me in for surgery. By that time, there was too much granulation for Surgeon No.9 to safely plate it, so I was sent home without surgery.

So all in all, I was out of action for around 4 months, almost lost my business and home due to loss of earnings and got thoroughly dicked about.

Sure, surgery is a risk, and if it’s going to be a straight-forward heal, best avoided. But if it’s 50/50, get it bolted together as soon as possible and get back to fitness without delay.

Mine is still in the same position as the the X-ray, but surrounded by a huge lump of new bone… My topless modelling career is almost certainly over… 🙁

Thanks cw, doesn’t sound pretty. I will speak to the gp today.

The evidence on surgery for clavicle fractures is far from clear cut, and there is some suggestion you end up giving a number of people an operation they never needed to catch the one that did.

As such there is often varied opinion on which fractures to fix and which not.

Not as black and white as might appear.

jet (orthopod)

I’m in a similar boat, 3 broken ligaments at the shoulder end of the clavicle, rather than the bone itself. 7 weeks in, riding a bike – pootling uncomfortably, trying not to do anything aggressive or hit any bumps. Commuting and short rides on smooth trails.

I’m going to have surgery at the end of August unless I make startling recovery between now and my pre-op assessment on the 18th.

I was told they don’t operate as a matter of course – many people get on fine without the surgery, and cutting people open unnecessarily is something they like to avoid.

broken bones are a little different, as there are many more ways they can be broken, whereas ligaments are a more on/off. One specialist’s “leave it” will be another’s “surgery ASAP”, based on what they’ve seen work, or not in the past.

Mate did his riding near Dorking, A&E sent him off with a sling and told him to go into a fracture clinic in 2 weeks. They sent him straight to surgery, saying with his initial X-Ray, they wouldn’t have let him out of the hospital.

And here’s a wish: Hope it heals well and you’re back on your bike soon, with no “reminders”! 😀

thanks jed26 and ned, there do seem to be as many points of view as patients/medics!

Neil, this is Jonny from the other group. Heal up quick whatever ends up happening. Great to have a few beers with you. J.

@niel insist on surgery. Tell them you are in pain, anything to make sure they get it done now. Ask your doctor is you can see a consultant asap, if they say that’s a wait get a private appointment (£250) with the same consultant.

I am increasingly appalled at the broad range of things at which the NHS is really quite bad (family and personal experience)

Well, 13 weeks in, anyone care to assess my progress?

Oh ffs I will try again later. Trying to link to Flickr images on my iPhone is giving me a nosebleed..

Looks broken still… Less broken?

Thanks, yes that’s me. They are sending me for a ct scan but I can see which way this is heading.

The posters X-ray looks very clean. Did mine last year and its looked much worse but healed without any op and is fine now except for a bump.

neil the wheel – Member
Thanks, yes that’s me. They are sending me for a ct scan but I can see which way this is heading.

Surgery? I can’t see any union at all, you’ll get some fancy titanium plating put in by the looks of it. I’ve had the same operation, it’s a relief to know that you are moving forward…

There you go, that looks like it’s newly broken!
[/url]Untitled by Neil Gander, on Flickr[/img]

Very disappointing, given that I actually don’t feel too bad, have a good range of movement and put in 45 miles on the bike today.