Note that she had a fracture in her fibula that did not require surgery (just a plaster cast), but a full 3 and a half months passed before she was comfortable driving a car. But I am just curious how long the recovery will be? Simply put, surgically repaired broken ankles take months to recover. A fibula fracture may require surgery, particularly if the bone pieces have moved far out of alignment or if the bone has broken into multiple pieces. The arm has three bones. As Oakland Raider Derek Carr gets surgery for his broken fibula, we look at how this bone can break, how it can be fixed and how long that might take. I either have to face those risks, plus the additional surgery, or prepare to be permanently unable to walk. Hi Maya, I had an ORIF ankle surgery a year ago. I read both articles today and they are spot on. Many plates allow either locking head or standard screws, to be used at the surgeon’s discretion. Wires are usually used alongside screws and plates. A motorcycle rider was cruising down the street in Hialeah, Miami-Dade County. I had a plate and screws to hold the bone together and plaster cast for 7 weeks and had to be non-load bearing. Guy Slowik FRCS, Orthopaedic Surgeon. Hi, I sustained a comminuted fracture of the distal end of my left tibia and fibula in a motorcycle accident on Jan 12. Both of them had hardware (a plate and screws) drilled into their fibula. Its loud and annoying. The surgeon must use caution while inserting the lag screw. Repairing these bones often involves the installation of plates, screws and pins. Only had the boot thankfully and not a cast. Waking up on the 8th of September, I was optimistic but nervous. The long bone in the upper arm is the humerus and the two bones in the forearm are the radius and ulna. Broken ankles occur in about 184 out of every 100,000 people in the United States every year. Then I put weight on the ankle, but in the boot, for another six weeks. During fibula surgery, the physician will use plates and screws or wires to fasten the fractured bone into place. I broke my fibula just above the ankle after a fall on ice. Preparation. The procedure involves attachment of a fixation plate made of stainless steel or titanium to the fibula and use of screws or fixation plate on the tibia to stabilize the bones and allow healing. Surgery Jan 15 and now have plate/4 screws in left fibula for the Weber B fracture. Orth surgeon knew I wanted to play hockey/bike again and used the smaller plate with less screws as he felt I'd heal up fine and said I'd be happier with a smaller incision. Whether or not there is surgery, strengthening and stretching exercises are prescribed to help you regain full range of motion. 3.5 mm locking straight plates (reconstruction plates) Fracture-specific plates: locking medial hook plates, locking lateral hook plates, and anatomic distal fibular plates The system can also be customized to include the FibuLock ® fibular nail (an MIS solution for ankle fractures), posterolateral fibula plates, and/or 2.7 mm cortical screws depending on the surgeon’s preferences. The surgeon (Dr. Jones in Grand Rapids MI) fixed this with a plate and screws, but it has been bothering me for a year now with pain. This surgery normally involves adding screws or plates to the area around the break to hold it in place while it heals. I broke my ankle in august and had surgery now i have a metal plate and 9 screws. I'm not neccesarily bothered by the plate or the screws on a regular basis, but I don't like the idea of having foreign objects in my body for the rest of my life. These metal items become a part of your fibula and are not removed. I also represent a client who broke his tibia but did not need surgery. The patient is positioned so that the the ankle is clearly visible to the surgeon. Non-operative management has a poor outcome so operative management is preferred. Also, I … I am learning the later screw did it's job before breaking right before I went in for my exit from pt back to no restrictions. I had a four hour surgery whereupon he put in two plates and 12 screws on each side of my leg. My new surgeon in Norway wants to remove it, I agree, and I already have a date. I still don't have feeling in the top of my foot and little movement in it. A broken ankle may be stabilized with a screw or a plate and screws. The area is cleaned and sterilized. Another potential complication of ankle fracture surgery is the development of painful retained hardware. These are made of stainless steel or titanium. This bone break of my left fibula would have to be characterized as the most serious to date (even winning out on my 20 cm open wound from crashing through a tempered class door in college). 5 weeks later ie last week, X-Rays showed ''fixation solid with early healing'' (surgeon's words.) While these implants do not help the bone heal faster, they can help to hold bones in the proper position while healing takes place. I was non-weight-bearing in a boot for six weeks. Plates are load sharing implants. Eventually, with the use of both crutches i started "walking" then just over a month, i was scheduled for the hardware removal surgery. Implanted metal can help broken bones heal in proper alignment. Putting a broken bone back in place and holding it with a plate and screws is one of the most common types of surgery we do as orthopedic surgeons. It broke just perfectly between the fibula and tibia. Broken Ankle with metal plate? Internal fixation refers to a surgical procedure used to realign and mechanically stabilize a severely broken bone. Learn about the different types of fibula fracture or breaks that impact the calf bone at the back of the lower leg. The type of hardware used depends on the location and type of fracture. Using plates, pins, nails and screws to fix broken bones in the arm, as well as in other parts of the body, is referred to as bone fracture repair. The broken bones are then held together (internal fixation) in this correct position with metal plates and/or screws. Was off work for 1 week and back I went; drove me nuts doing nothing. If the fracture is serious and involves several bones, you might need surgery to implant screws and plates in the bones to be sure that they heal properly. An IV and anesthesia is administered. My fibula, which is the little bone on the outside of your leg, was in so many pieces. Why do we use plates and screws, though? While I've broken other bones before, primarily the collarbone (clavicle) and had other injuries/accidents. Plate and screws to fix fibula. During this procedure, bone fragments are re-positioned to their normal alignment and are then held together with special screws and metal plates that attach to the outer surface of the bone. This internal fixation provides stability so movement can begin shortly after surgery … X-Ray, broken fibula, July 2001. Your surgeon will use a combination of metal wires, pins, screws, rods and plates to securely fix your bones in place. If one allows the drill bit, or the screw, to protrude too far medially, one can damage the neurovascular bundle or FHL tendon. Osteoporotic fractures of the distal fibula in elderly patients is a challenge to manage. They can occur in people of any age. So any sudden stress will cause re fracture. The plate illustrated has screw holes in both its transverse and vertical limbs. Hi, i had a bad ankle break like 5 months ago, had the surgery and screws, plates etc inserted, non weight bearing for 3.5 months. Implants may include metal plates and screws, pins, and intramedullary rods inserted into the cavity of a bone. In this Ask Dr. Geier column, I discuss that question from a reader … When the cast was removed I was given a support boot and was able to put about 50 percent weight on the foot whilst using crutches. My only option was surgery to keep the bones in alignment while healing and ultimately regain normal movement. Does anyone have any knowledge about this or could tell me what i should be doing and/or if i will ever get all the feeling and movement back? Metal rods or nails sit inside your bone, while screws and metal plates attach onto the surface of it. Because there is little subcutaneous fat between the skin and various bony prominences of the ankle, fixation devices such as screws and plates inserted in these areas can become uncomfortable as they can protrude under the skin and become sensitive pressure areas. I play volleyball, and I think is may be what really irritated the area where the screws point out. My goal is to have a fantastic hiking and backpacking season and then to have the removal surgery right around the holidays in either November or December. $445K Settlement for Motorcycle Rider’s Leg (Tibial Plateau) Fracture After Truck Hits Him. I underwent open reduction and internal fixation with a T-plate and screws on the same evening, and was discharged walking with crutches 5 days later. Which means that some amount of force was going through them during weight bearing. Even if you are not experiencing severe pain, you do not want to take the risk of prolonging your broken fibula recovery process, re-injuring your leg without proper guidance, or having your fibula heal improperly (nonunion). It is common now for broken bones (fractures) to be fixed with metal plates and screws or a long nail, especially if the fracture is unstable or the joint surface has been damaged, and for this hardware to be left in the body. Hi! The fibula can break in several places and different ways. The surgeon will attach metal rods, screws, plates, or pins to the bone to hold it together. My surgeon doesn't want to remove the hardware because of my history of a DVT after the initial surgery and because I am very overweight, so the risk of my fibula snapping without the plate to reinforce it is rather high. On removal, this weight is suddenly loaded onto your normal healed bone. Broken Fibula Rehab & Recovery | Running Back Josh Schultheis | Revolution Physical Therapy - … I’ve been a crying mess the past few days as I surrender every shred of independence I’ve ever had. I had a major repair and recovery from a broken fibula; 8 screws, a plate and a syndesmotic screw at the top of the repair. I am also a mother of two children 8 and 9. Then on the other side—the tibia side—I had a few hairline fractures there. Anyways, my achilles started to heal after 8 months and my ankle started clicking. Actually I had 3 surgeries, screws /plates for fibula and tibia bones( both were broken) – fixing the ankle – ligament reconstruction. I headed to get my weight bearing X-ray, the whole previous week I had been icing and elevating my leg hoping it would make some difference and that I would not need surgery. Accessing the Ankle . Two fractures to my fibula at the ankle and ligament damage is the outcome that will have me in surgery next week receiving a plate and screws. On the medial side is the neurovascular bundle which ends up frequently at the tip of the subchondral lag screw. He said there was no way he could put it back together, but the plate and the screws would hold it. Plate rotation should be checked, and adjusted if needed, after the first distal screw is inserted. The broken bones were held in the correct position with a metal plate and screws. Like a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces of the broken bones are placed back together (open reduction). Recovering From A Broken Fibula