déja vu! it still hasn’t healed…
Week 13, day 2. Today I went to see upper extremity expert/orthopedic surgeon Dr. Christian Veillette. The appointment went really well. I got another xray taken. Despite regaining some range of motion and strength, my bone still hasn’t showed any signs of healing.
Dr. Veillette said that 75% of the time displaced fractures will heal whereas the other 25% of the time it won’t. Unfortunately I fall into that category so the only way to really fix the problem is to get the surgery. Generally if a bone is displaced this much, and left to heal, the shoulder would fuse in the wrong position and therefore affect the mechanics of the shoulder joint.
He was also really nice about answering all my questions. I found out that I didn’t need a bone graft (whew!), that the chance of infection is present but actually not as high as everyone kept telling me due to the subcutaneous (beneath the skin) nature of the clavicle, that I don’t have to pay for the surgery (Canada’s health system ROCKS!!!) and he even drew on me to show where the scar would be – it’s not too bad…a little 4″ scar. I’ll be trading in a bump (step deformity) for a scar and improved functionality. I think it’s well worth it 🙂
I stressed that I wanted it done before xmas, so given that, he said he’ll do his best to schedule me in within the next 2 weeks so we’ll see what happens! At this point I’m just really glad that I got to see the expert and am on my way to getting my clavicle repaired.
If anything, I’ve learned a lot from this ongoing experience. One piece of advice I’d offer is: Don’t believe what everyone tells you. Do your research, get several opinions, then make your decision.