Elbow Nonunion - Real Post Posted: 05-05-05 07:06am
I had a bicycle accident, 6 months ago,
where the elbow became very swollen,
painful and unable to extend against
gravity.
The xrays showed a detached olecranon with
some healing of the bone ends indicating
that a previous fracture, 30 years ago,
had
separated in the past , also the tbw (wire
loop) from that fracture was broken.
The fracture was fixed with two k-wire and
tbw and kept in plaster for six weeks.
Xrays taken after 5 months showed the bone
still hadn't healed and i'm told that
isn't surprising because of the previously
detached fracture.
The k-wires are due to be removed in a few
months time but the tbw will remain, I
think to allow a smaller incision.
I have been told that the soft tissue will
provide support to the joint even if the
fragment separates.
I raised the question about a bone graft
and was told that it wasn't necessary
because I had a functional arm, my current
range of
movement is about 45 deg to 130 deg -
close to what I had before the latest
fracture, although I think the extension
is more lacking.
I wonder if it acceptable to leave the
elbow in that condition for a 51 year old
man who is very active in cycling, running
and keeps fit with home weight training.
I'm now thinking of getting a second
opinion.
