Bullwings Posted December 24, 2007 Report Share Posted December 24, 2007 As in surgical hardware you've had installed due to an injury (or because you're masochistic and want to set off metal detectors)? Or Have boarded in the past with hardware (now removed)? What did your doctor say as far as the risks involved? Have any of you ever managed to damage your installed hardware, and if so, what happened? Also, does your hardware affect your performance in anyway? Is your hardware permanent or temporary? I'm just currious what other people are doing and willing to risk or not risk. Happy trails and be safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeW Posted December 24, 2007 Report Share Posted December 24, 2007 got a titanium rod in big bone (tibia?) and another one with 11 screws on little bone (fibila?). paranoid id re-break it and it wont break and stay bent. still alpine riding, skiing, and motorcycle race. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirtap Posted December 24, 2007 Report Share Posted December 24, 2007 I've broken my 5th metatarsal on both feet and have screws in both. I forget I even have them until a question like this gets asked... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svr Posted December 24, 2007 Report Share Posted December 24, 2007 titanium screw in left foot...worry about bending it sometimes when playing rugby or taking big drops on my tanker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted December 24, 2007 Report Share Posted December 24, 2007 plates and screws in left radius/ulna. arm, meet rock. rode with cast on 2 monts after it happened. still hurts bad sometimes, but...arms aren't crucial to carving. definitely have the "what if it breaks again and gets stuck" fear, but oh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebionicman Posted December 24, 2007 Report Share Posted December 24, 2007 Rodded from my hip to my ankle in my right leg, mulitple screws in there. ACL, LCL, PCL in my left knee are somebody elses and some screws in there. Only warning I got was not to ski, to much risk on the ligaments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bschurman Posted December 24, 2007 Report Share Posted December 24, 2007 I have a titanium plate and seven screws in my right fibula from a mountain biking accident. Picture your right foot pointed in the 3:00 position. Attached picture if not my foot but that is what the hardware in mine looks like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Brown Posted December 24, 2007 Report Share Posted December 24, 2007 Titanium screw in the head of my radius (elbow end) in of my 2st season snowboarding - still riding 8 years later. I do worry about breaking things, but that's just me being an old fart... My friends think I'm crazy of course. Hippo Holidays to everyone BTW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyagt4 Posted December 24, 2007 Report Share Posted December 24, 2007 This thread gives me the willys. Busted up my left wrist pretty badly, no hardware thankfully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted December 24, 2007 Report Share Posted December 24, 2007 To those of you that do have hardware...how long? Mine's been in since 97 and it sometimes swells, gets hot and very painful even to the touch. If I bump it during those periods look out! anyone else experience this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEJ Posted December 24, 2007 Report Share Posted December 24, 2007 My wife had to have the hardware in her back removed about a year after the surgery. The rule of thumb I've heard is that any hardware may have to come back out. She has a pile in her wrist from a horrific ski accident in the 03/04 season. Wrist will never be the same, but no complaints about the hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMWOOD Posted December 24, 2007 Report Share Posted December 24, 2007 It gets a bit heavy at times, and cold to the touch. Great conversation starter on the chair rides, too. :D but seriously . . ACL replacement w/ patellar graft(3 screws) & plate & 4 screws in the ankle. Both in the right leg and fatigue sets in after riding all day & i'm feeling it the next day for sure. Multiple consecutive days are tougher but Advil @ 4:20 is your friend.... :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svr Posted December 24, 2007 Report Share Posted December 24, 2007 To those of you that do have hardware...how long? Mine's been in since 97 and it sometimes swells, gets hot and very painful even to the touch. If I bump it during those periods look out! anyone else experience this? Had mine since 2003 and I experience similar pains. Rode in Alaska with a cast and three pins in my right wrist with no problems (told doc I wasn`t cancelling trip based on injury so he made the cast a little stronger). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeW Posted December 24, 2007 Report Share Posted December 24, 2007 hmm, had the ankle broken in 96 or so -- hurts once in a while-- like hardbooting/skiing/snowboarding real hard or motorcycling (rarely in this one, tho). the big rod in my whole calf bone (tibia), it hurts seldomly when its gonna be extremely cold (like real effing cold) or working too hard (physically). no intention to remove 'em. i do have the option to do so, but frankly, i really dont want to go back to the hospital to recuperate and have the bone marrow to regrow in those holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furi Posted December 24, 2007 Report Share Posted December 24, 2007 no hardware here, but I tore my meniscus a few years ago and then 2 seasons ago tore it again and had to get a meniscectomy (they removed the meniscus). My knee is still super senstive and I worry about it all the time...one wrong fall where my knee gets tweaked could mean the end of the season for me also I can't absorb shocks as well anymore...after a hard day it hurts compressing the knee - going down stairs for example. Advil is my best friend and I eat it like candy and still try to charge hard everyday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recon Posted December 24, 2007 Report Share Posted December 24, 2007 Cool x-rays--------------Dang/ Very bad breaks---------- Many, Pin's/ Screws Spoken here......... Do foreign body's like bullets count???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted December 25, 2007 Report Share Posted December 25, 2007 Had mine since 2003 and I experience similar pains. Rode in Alaska with a cast and three pins in my right wrist with no problems (told doc I wasn`t cancelling trip based on injury so he made the cast a little stronger). Yup, mine actually told me I'd be fine since the plate was stronger than bone. He simply said "look, if you fall hard enough the metal will bend, and your arm will be stuck in that position. Think about it." I still went riding... I just...mine actually swells up and gets hot to the touch...I don't think that's normal but like Lee said Im not too keen on removal surgery. Staph, recovery, possibly bone weakness... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
svr Posted December 25, 2007 Report Share Posted December 25, 2007 Mine does not get hot, but does get temperature sensitive sometimes and then cramps up pretty bad...but usually even long hikes do not bother me, but drastic weather changes affect the screw quite a bit. thinking to sched a surgery this summer to have it removed...will wait until season is over though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted December 25, 2007 Report Share Posted December 25, 2007 Mine does not get hot, but does get temperature sensitive sometimes and then cramps up pretty bad...but usually even long hikes do not bother me, but drastic weather changes affect the screw quite a bit. thinking to sched a surgery this summer to have it removed...will wait until season is over though. I actually think mine gets periodically infected. Hot to touch plus palpable swelling usually indicates infection. Odd... yeah, I want mine out, too...just really hesitant to enter a hospital let alone let them cut me open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullwings Posted December 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2007 ^^^ I don't think that's an infection dave. Sounds more like an allergy... You should have it removed, you're probably still pretty young where it would be in your better interest, especially since you're still boarding. My doctors scared me enough that i've wussed out and i'm being a pansy this season. That, and my leg has started bothering me more with the slightly cooler (see SoCal) "winter" weather. I'm not saying plates are any less serious, but they're on the outside of the bone, if they get damaged, they're a bit easier to remove. Rods that are encased and surrounded by your bone are a little bit more difficult to deal with. If they get bent, they don't come out the same way that they went in. Doctor told me about a guy who managed bend the rod in his tibia (big bone in lower leg - same one i have) in a motorcycle accident... They had to get a diamond edge saw to cut his leg in half so they could extract it from the area where it bent. I almost lost the leg the first time from compartment syndrome and have a little bit of permanent muscle damage (very minor). I think i can wait till the next season. I'm scheduled to have my rod removed next June (i'm doing it ASAP even though it can arguably stay in like it seems everyone else here chooses). I get to go on disability again and make use of all those taxes they take out of our paychecks well, that's pretty cool, you guys are all pretty hardcore, which was something i already gathered with those of you putting 40+ days on the snow each year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Sub Posted December 25, 2007 Report Share Posted December 25, 2007 an allergy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullwings Posted December 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2007 Yeah, over time it's possible to develop allergies to the metals in your body due to prolonged exposure. People develop allergies to jewelry all the time (nickel), why not to titanium and/or stainless steel? A friend of mine had a spinal fusion done. After about 5 years, he started developing an allergic reaction, and had to have the hardware removed. Once it was out, no more problems. I'm by no means an expert on this stuff, but I know it's one of the other complications with installed hardware. There's a possibility it's just a recurring infection, but even if it is, isn't that enough reason to have the hardware removed? Assuming you have medical insurance, it shouldn't be a problem. Short term suffering/hardship for long term ease and enjoyment. Or, you can keep it in for short term discomfort for a life time... But, then again, everyone's evaluation of the situation is different, like mine differs from everyone else's here. I'm skipping the boarding for one season, but definitely having my hardware removed next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeW Posted December 25, 2007 Report Share Posted December 25, 2007 Doctor told me about a guy who managed bend the rod in his tibia (big bone in lower leg - same one i have) in a motorcycle accident... They had to get a diamond edge saw to cut his leg in half so they could extract it from the area where it bent. Good god, you're scaring the s--t out of me on this one. Looks like Ill have to make an appointment with the doctor to see what he's got to say. I really hate -down- time but i dont know if this is worth it with the bent rod issue. Is this guy's muscles damaged too from the cutting his leg in half??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullwings Posted December 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 25, 2007 I'm sure he's go tsome sort of complications, but lucky for him he didn't lose the leg. That's definitely a possibility. It's one of those things that you'd rather not think about, but is not beyond the realm of possible occurences. For me, the rod is definitely coming out before I do anything. I already have permanent muscle and nerve damage right now, I'll pass on possibly making it worse. Doctor also told me about some other girl that managed to break the rod in her leg after falling off of a horse (or horse fell on her, dunno exactly what). He said that that was much better since the rod broke, and it was much easier extracting the rod from her. So, if that's the case, just make sure you're always charging hard at 120%, so if anything does happen, you break the rod instead of just bending it. BTW, i'm not trying to scare anyone, i'm just wondering what other people are doing. I'm just a chicken s--t now. The fact that so many of you are boarding with hardware, and not a single person has posted anything about damaging hardware -- those are some pretty good statistics/odds as far as i'm concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvrocks Posted December 26, 2007 Report Share Posted December 26, 2007 Like SVR and kirtap, I'm a member of the screw in the 5th metatarsal club. Right one for me. I broke it twice in high school, once playing football and about 6 months later throwing shot put. The first one must not have healed well because you can lay the x-rays over each other and they match up exactly. Had the screw put in in 1993 and its been no problem up to this point. Does make for some cool x-ray and MRI images now though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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