Ahhh yeah you did. But I’d still be more concerned about the ATFL though. Bones heal quick and easy compared, especially non displaced fractures.
Yeah not worried about the fractures. More that there is 3 things wrong with it that the hospital didn't care about! I have an appt with a surgeon to discuss options.
If there’s no displacement of the base of your fibula from your tibia, then hopefully a moonboot will fix the problem. The ruptured ligaments should fill in with scar tissue to stabilise the joint. I destroyed 3/5 of the ligaments on the outside of my ankle and partially tore another. No surgery but a functional ankle with reduced range of motion and it still skis (but not tele). Speedy recovery, walking and sliding!
Thanks, No displacement I don't think. I don't think it's lax either (it doesn't feel different to the other foot)
So had a good Skype consult with a surgeon last night. He thinks surgery is not likely and wants me to wean off the boot and start physio ASAP. I slept with only one boot on last night!
I promised some Xrays of the broken humerus tuberosity. There are cracks in the head as well. These are day 1 shots, currently on day 25. As an aside, anyone know a good shoulder physio in Canberra>?
arrrggghhhhhh going a bit stir crazy here. I'm upright - YAY (on crutches and mum keeps getting shocked at how tall i am ) But still reliant on others to escape the house. and get outside (not really mobility friendly block here)
Funny you should suggest them - I went to them for my hip and I've booked in to see Liam on Wednesday. As an update - saw the doctor yesterday. The fracture has healed and from the examination the rotator cuff appears to be intact. So now it's the fun and games of rehab!
I had my final date with fracture clinic on Monday - also got the all clear. I was lucky enough to get the consultant. YAY He was lovely (Ashman) so now i just need to work towards independence (namely driving!) again.
No news is good news I guess. Nothing to report from my side of things. Sad to see the snow melt (I feel like that every year). It doesn't matter that I have missed skiing the last 2 seasons, I still look at the cams multiple times per day. But happy to be purchasing Epic Passes for my family and planning a week in Perisher in mid August 2021, staying at The Man. I hope to be more mobile by then and hope that the infection has gone and Covid-19 restrictions are just a memory. Cheers
Great news, @Ozgirl and @Kangaroo . Glad to hear you're on the path. Over the weekend I went for my first ski since doing my ACL in Shiga Kogen 2.5 years ago. Despite a few moments of discomfort and one silly moment of going beyond my abilities and nearly popping it again, I'm pleased to say all limbs are in one piece today. Bring on the next slide.
And you had a reconstruction! Have you been shirking your rehab . Seriously you should be feeling rock solid .
Hehe, doesn't everyone shirk rehab? I think I'm nearly back at pre-injury leg strength, but the knee does make some interesting grinding and graunching feelings from day to day, so am a little conservative with it as a result. I'd just hate to go through it all again! Having said that, I charge up and down running trails with gay abandon, so in general I'd say it's pretty good!
Well my physio is happy with my progress! Next week i am allowed to sit in my (stationary) vehicle and practice braking and accelerating.
Im driving! Woot woot. Freedom Surprisingly easy - thank god. i still walk slow - anyone who has seen my dad walk (need knee replacement) im slower than him! That ankle proprioception, especially with no ACL. is a tricky bugger! It hurts to get into hiking boots each day. wont even attempt ski boot assessment until that stops hurting, or next season - which ever comes first!
Hi there, received some good news in my orthopaedic review on Friday last. No signs of infection and CRP levels remain low. I asked about the previous slightly elevated level and the surgeon explained that it could be as simple as a small cut somewhere on the body (probably true as I have lots of small cuts from fishing and handling flathead). They are working on an end plan now (rather than "kicking a can down the road" approach). That plan is to have an "antibiotic holiday" for a period of time to see how my body handles things without the drugs. If all goes well, they are planning on removing the antibiotic cement that they put in my tibia and replace it with cadaver (donor) bone. Following that, and further down the track, they hope to do a knee replacement including replacing the entire top of the tibia. The fractures that hadn't healed so quickly previously are now showing signs of consolidating. In the x-ray below you can see where they inserted the antibiotic cement in the top of the tibia. Interesting to see the union of the fibula. Not aligned perfectly by any means, but no issue. The long fractures down the tibia have essentially healed, but the upper areas are still very visible. Some of the internal stitches are still visible 5 months since my last (16th) operation. Also pleased to have purchased EPIC passes for my family for 2021. I fully expect to spend a week in Perisher, but highly unlikely that I'll get to ski yet (maybe one day in the future). Cheers, hope you are all well. At least I got my snow fix on the weekend on the Oberon Plateau
It’s great to hear of the planned orthopaedic roadmap to the finish and that you’re remaining so positive!
Thanks Sadie. Things seem to be turning around for me. I just hope that it continues. I'd love to at least be able to have a week in the snow next year without pain. I can be the official table-minder for the family. Cheers
Update. Well I obviously didn't get get to do a snow trip this year thanks to the world going pear shaped. However, a couple of months ago Medibank Private announced a deal for members requiring joint replacement surgery that they will cover the out of pocket expenses. I received an email today saying that I have been accepted into the program. The only catch is I have to travel to Brisbane for the operation but that's not an issue. I still have to go to my GP to arrange a referral and do whatever else is needed so it can go ahead. I'll be going to Westside private hospital and the surgeon is Dr Cameron Cooke. Any Brisbane folk familiar with him at all?
Ah! Good ol' Dr Cameron "The Butcher" Cooke, is practicing again. I wonder when he got out? Never heard of him but I'm sure he's a fine surgeon. Good on you. All the best.
Just listen out for when they wheel you into theatre and you can hear someone instructing someone what sounds to be the steps in your surgery! (True story!)
That is a benefit of going Private. The surgeon you consult with WILL do the operation. For major joint ops I've had I have learned to always get the personal guarantee from the specialist that it will be him or her that does the op, not a trainee.
Yeah, that’s the quid pro pro for getting it free in the public system. One real concern with the next generation of doctors is their procedure exposure. All medical colleges have voiced concern that it is difficult for registrars to get necessary procedural experience. Patients rights groups are very big on pushing for the procedure to be done by the consultant, not the trainee. Fine for them but their kids will pay for it ten years down the track.
It's a dfficult situation. More complex surgery has a higher risk of failure or sub-optimal outcomes. If less experienced surgeons had operated on my right ankle in the first three bouts of surgery which were in the NZ public system, I could well be walking on a prosthetic leg now. As it turned out II got the third best option in NZ due to the ankle specialist going on holidays then the Registrar was too busy to spend most of the day operating on one patient. The third choice surgeon did a reasonable job in what turned out to be an 8 hr procedure (both ankles) but I wonder how the last 10 years would have been had the specialist done the surgery. Then after medivac to The Alfred I needed a difficult skin graft onto the dead part of the medial malleolus which was done by the head of reconstructive surgery. He told me he wasn't going to have anyone else do it because of it failed my options were limited. I was happy to talk to the interns and registrars about the injuries and some of them would have been observers and assistant surgeons involved with my two skin graft operations but I wanted to maximise my chances of keeping my foot attached. Learning surgeons get their experience on people who don't know enough about medicine to push for the best care they can get in the circumstances or are more altruistic than I or need emergency surgery without delay. In NZ I'd already waited 15 days for surgery and I was desparate to get home to my family so I went ahead on the day with the less experienced surgeon. Virtual training is increasing which can help upskill surgeons before they try doing the real thing. Donating ones body to a medical school is a way to help future patients learn to slice, dice and repair body parts.
After a redo of my left ankle at The Alfred a few months after it was done in NZ, I've gone private for the last 5 operations on my right and left ankles, with one of Melbourne's top ankle specialist replacing my right one with a recent model prosthetic 17 months ago. Haven't skied much on it yet and it dorsiflexion is almost zero any the pain is much reduced so I'm looking forward to skiing more next year than I've been able to tolerate for 11 years. Walking and standing are much better too minus the bone on bone pain.
Yeah, it’s a tough one. I guess I’m thinking more of basic skills stuff- I have first and second year registrars who have never put in a chest tube or central line- basic life saving ED stuff. your level certainly wouldn’t be done by a basic trainee but an advanced trainee or sub specialty fellow (ie almost consultant level) would normally at least assist or perform some of the advanced stuff under close supervision. Re the virtual stuff- I’m not surgical so I can’t comment on their world but all sim labs in ED can’t reproduce the ‘feel’ of procedures. cognitive skills - advanced ALS etc they’re magic!
Having to rely on the luck of the draw i.e. who is in duty when you urgently need surgery is scary, unless one is clueless and thinks stuff-ups rarely happen in hospitals. I know that isn't the case. Lots of good work gets done but stuff-ups happen regularly in both public and private hospitals. Always better to not be in either!
Been to the doctor a couple of times the last few weeks. I thought I'd torn a muscle, he reckons I've got sciatica from a bulging disc. Had some massage therapy for sciatica last Wednesday and again this morning. Therapist's first question: How long have you had that bruise behind your knee? Me: What bruise? Therapist: It looks like bleed down from a torn muscle.
Muscle tear more likely, no bruising with sciatica. How did it happen? Is the bruising above or below the knee? Hard to be sure from the photo
The massage therapist thinks a torn adductor. I had to see the doctor yesterday and asked about the bruise. His response was "that could have come from any minor injury". When I relayed what the masseur said, the doctor asked when I'd had the massage, then sniffed and said the bruise probably came from the massage For context, this doctor is an ascetic Indian, who was a surgeon in Hong Kong before coming to Australia and setting up as a GP. He's no fan of any kind of physical therapy and is usually dismissive of any condition that can't be treated with surgery or painkillers. He did check my leg for a pinched sciatic nerve and explained what he was doing. It was very painfully obvious from the test that the sciatic nerve is definitely not happy. Of course it's entirely possible that I have both a torn adductor and sciatica. I know that after the masseur worked on the adductor yesterday I have a lot less niggling pain. However I still can't sit for more than about half an hour, so work is off the agenda for another week. Then we're into Christmas shutdown, so I'm home until the 4th of January.
