Collar bone (clavicle) Surgery?

Question

HI, my mom fell & broke her collar bone badly, and she is having surgery to s***w on a metal plate on friday.

My question is what are the risks..is it generally a very safe procedure?

How long will it take her to heal & recuperate?

Thanks!

Answer 1

hello there, I think I can answer your question somewhat.. First of all, the surgery is pretty safe and is relatively easy to do-it can take anywhere from like 20 minutes to several hours depending on the break. It's not like you can really die from it or anything.. Perhaps the only risks are infections; staph and mrsa and other junk are around, in our noses, finger nails, breath, etc.. So it's really important to be especially clean around the open skin area until it is scarred over.

I'll relate my own situation to give you an idea of what it's like. Broke clavicle into 3 pieces (fell on an ice block while snowboarding..), had surgery around early February with a plate and 8 screws, and most of it healed by late April, though a small staph infection kept the end part open for 1.5 months more. So overall, to really be able to use the arm, it takes about 4-5 months. Other than that, I didn't feel any pain while it healed, because several nerves were killed around the area, plus they blocked a central nerve that runs down the arm (they poke a needle into your neck before surgery to do this, though it doesn't really hurt at all cause of the drugs).. **Important - Just make sure that she keeps it super clean, and never really touch the site until it's scarred, because it's so easy to infect it! If you've any more questions at all, email me whenever.

I wish her the best, and make sure you take care of her!. Cheers!

PS. In case you're wondering what the surgery looks like, check out this video (Part 1 and 2):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I65PnT2V9...

It's kinda cool, just hope you don't have a weak stomach. Still makes me cringe when they move the bones around...