3 ms·

So what you’re trying to say is the fear is justified. That going in for surgery or a stay at the hospital is as much (or more) risky due to after procedure inf

So what you’re trying to say is the fear is justified. That going in for surgery or a stay at the hospital is as much (or more) risky due to after procedure infections. I’ve broken my olecranon (the pointy bit of your elbow) and declined surgery. I set it myself. Glad I did. It hurt. It wasn’t pleasant. But to me the risk of infection from being opened up for something so minor was too much of a risk. If I had internal bleeding or something I would have gone for it but a simple broken bone (even a joint) isn’t enough for me.

SoftTalker 3y ago
It's like any medical procedure or drug. There are always risks and possible side-effects. The idea is that the risks of not treating the problem are worse than the risks of the cure. Yes some people get infections after surgery. Most do not. The COVID vaccine killed some people. Most were fine. Don't make your medical decisions based on anecdotes.
hombre_fatal 3y ago
I broke my elbow tip as well on a skateboard but figured it would sort itself out like i do with all injuries. A decade later I can’t do an elbow plank without some pain usually and I can’t put a lot of weight on that part of my elbow. My favorite laptop position is on my belly on the floor so it sometimes hurts too much to do that. I don’t know if surgery would have helped but it’s annoying sometimes.
- reactordev 3y ago
  if it doesn't work and you didn't set it while it was broken (you let the pieces heal on their own) you probably do need surgery. They'll have to re-break it and set it properly. I did this to myself while it was broken and my arm wasn't useful. A few shots of whiskey, a friend giving me a firm handshake, and a really really strong pull. The broken bone bit slid back into the elbow socket and I could straighten my arm. I couldn't hold it there on my own, but it was straight. A couple of months with an arm sling and it healed ok. There's still a little gap in the bone but it no longer hurts when I hit it against door frames. IANAD but I know my own body, I know when something is wrong, when something isn't working right, and sometimes kicking your body's a$@ is what it needs. Like doing a purge. Or fasting to shock the system.
haldujai 3y ago
I wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that the fear is justified, not every broken bone is “simple” and while most fractures are nonoperative some do require surgical fixation. Pain reduction isn’t the main reason to operate or the metric of interest, there are many ways to alleviate acute pain including casting. Functional impairment (immediate and delayed) and reducing the risks of posttraumatic arthritis are far more important. Joint infections (and pseudomonas in general) are an absolute nightmare as the joint space is not vascular. Bone infections/osteomyelitis are much rarer and for the most part less catastrophic (although they certainly still can be). As always patient autonomy is paramount and we all value risks differently. For myself as a young healthy adult (not an orthopaedic surgeon) I would rather accept the minimal risks of surgical reduction and fixation for a fracture needing one than risk needing complex reconstruction or joint replacement in 10-20 years which has much higher complication rates and longer recovery.
KaiserPro 3y ago
Statistics is your friend here. You will be able to get stats for morbidity (fancy word for oopsey rate) for the procedure and the hospital. there will be a point where the risk of infection is far outweighed by the reward of surgery.
AbraKdabra 3y ago
> So what you’re trying to say is the fear is justified. That going in for surgery or a stay at the hospital is as much (or more) risky due to after procedure infections. Short answer: What? No, no way. Long answer: It depends, If you can avoid being opened sure, avoid it like the plague, I've learned that the hard way that no matter how much sterilization is done, bacteria is there, and if your body is cut there's a chance bacteria could get in, but there are cases when you have no other road, like my case. Last December I couldn't walk a single complete street, the labrum was damaged to the point that the only solution was an arthroscopy, there was no option for me to say no. My surgeon told me "patients get infected, shit happens", but on top of that I got extremely unlucky, I got the worst fucking bacteria in the universe, I had no fever and the needle that was inserted in my hip to test for bacterial growth yielded negative results.

SoftTalker 3y ago

It's like any medical procedure or drug. There are always risks and possible side-effects. The idea is that the risks of not treating the problem are worse than the risks of the cure. Yes some people get infections after surgery. Most do not. The COVID vaccine killed some people. Most were fine. Don't make your medical decisions based on anecdotes.

hombre_fatal 3y ago

I broke my elbow tip as well on a skateboard but figured it would sort itself out like i do with all injuries. A decade later I can’t do an elbow plank without some pain usually and I can’t put a lot of weight on that part of my elbow. My favorite laptop position is on my belly on the floor so it sometimes hurts too much to do that. I don’t know if surgery would have helped but it’s annoying sometimes.

reactordev 3y ago
if it doesn't work and you didn't set it while it was broken (you let the pieces heal on their own) you probably do need surgery. They'll have to re-break it and set it properly. I did this to myself while it was broken and my arm wasn't useful. A few shots of whiskey, a friend giving me a firm handshake, and a really really strong pull. The broken bone bit slid back into the elbow socket and I could straighten my arm. I couldn't hold it there on my own, but it was straight. A couple of months with an arm sling and it healed ok. There's still a little gap in the bone but it no longer hurts when I hit it against door frames. IANAD but I know my own body, I know when something is wrong, when something isn't working right, and sometimes kicking your body's a$@ is what it needs. Like doing a purge. Or fasting to shock the system.

haldujai 3y ago

I wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that the fear is justified, not every broken bone is “simple” and while most fractures are nonoperative some do require surgical fixation. Pain reduction isn’t the main reason to operate or the metric of interest, there are many ways to alleviate acute pain including casting. Functional impairment (immediate and delayed) and reducing the risks of posttraumatic arthritis are far more important. Joint infections (and pseudomonas in general) are an absolute nightmare as the joint space is not vascular. Bone infections/osteomyelitis are much rarer and for the most part less catastrophic (although they certainly still can be). As always patient autonomy is paramount and we all value risks differently. For myself as a young healthy adult (not an orthopaedic surgeon) I would rather accept the minimal risks of surgical reduction and fixation for a fracture needing one than risk needing complex reconstruction or joint replacement in 10-20 years which has much higher complication rates and longer recovery.

KaiserPro 3y ago

Statistics is your friend here. You will be able to get stats for morbidity (fancy word for oopsey rate) for the procedure and the hospital. there will be a point where the risk of infection is far outweighed by the reward of surgery.

AbraKdabra 3y ago

> So what you’re trying to say is the fear is justified. That going in for surgery or a stay at the hospital is as much (or more) risky due to after procedure infections. Short answer: What? No, no way. Long answer: It depends, If you can avoid being opened sure, avoid it like the plague, I've learned that the hard way that no matter how much sterilization is done, bacteria is there, and if your body is cut there's a chance bacteria could get in, but there are cases when you have no other road, like my case. Last December I couldn't walk a single complete street, the labrum was damaged to the point that the only solution was an arthroscopy, there was no option for me to say no. My surgeon told me "patients get infected, shit happens", but on top of that I got extremely unlucky, I got the worst fucking bacteria in the universe, I had no fever and the needle that was inserted in my hip to test for bacterial growth yielded negative results.