AJ Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 I'll start from the beginning, October 2006 i broke my right femur and they put a rod and 4 screws in. 2 in my knee and 2 up by my hip. fast forward to December, swelling in my knee is going down still and i can finally sleep on my side but i need a blanket or pillow between my knees to keep it from hurting. same as now and the swelling is gone just scar tissue left but it still hurts to have my knees touching when I'm on my side. i was at the doctor Tuesday to get the all clear to go back to work and i ask him about it, so we go look at the X-rays and see that one of the screws that is in my knee is too long and went threw the bone and is poking my skin right where my knees touch. you can see a bump and feel it as well. so he tells me that if its bothering me they can take it out. my question is since they fucked up and used too long of screw and caused this to happen why should my insurance have to pay for this along with me having to pick up the rest the insurance won't pay? isn't that why they rape you in the ass the first time so cover there fuck ups? I have to be there at 6:45 tomorrow morning so they can cut into me at 8:30. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 Sounds like its time to threaten malpractice. But I would wait until after the surgery is done tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHaze Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 I would definately raise some hell about that. But as stated, wait until after surgery and after a little rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBCBRGIRL Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 find out if they took x-rays while you were in surgery because they should have caught that when they put that in you! you shouldnt have to pay at all because it is their fault! first its the doctor's because it was his decision on putting that size in there and there is also a sales rep in there that helps explain all of the equipment that the place in there and he should have said something also! you could take that to court. all you should have to do it prove that he caused an injury from negelating to place the correct size of screw!i would also talk to your insurance about it also to see what they think about having to pay for it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathan Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 At most the screw removal is going to be like a 10min outpatient procedure. I had three removed and it was like 15min on the billing. The cost is minimal that you should have to pay, like $100 at the most. I look at mine as the cost of playing sports. If yours was on your time too (you didn't mention workers comp), then it is shitty but you have to pay for your accidents and move on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAOLE Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 Your are out of luck. In Ohio "professional fees are protected... what I mean by that is no matter the outcome you came be billed for the services. For example, you go to the hospital having a heart attack, you die because they were busy that night, your wife will still get the bill for it. Or in my office you come to me due to a herniated disk, I work on you and you don't get better, you still get the bill. Or in your case, the doc puts in a screw thats too long... tough luck you get the bill. I know it sounds harsh but that is the way it is. If it was not that way the Doc's would be issuing refunds anytime someone said they did not like the outcome of the procedure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurkvinny Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 Would the screws have came out eventually, whether they were too long or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted March 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 that sucks, he did a good job with everything, just picked up the wrong screw for the job. oh and i have no feeling in half my foot haha. but i didn't even notice that for like 3 months. you can't see it from this angle but you can tell there threw. http://myspace-453.vo.llnwd.net/01333/35/49/1333319453_l.jpg. oh well i guess you'll have that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted March 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 Would the screws have came out eventually, whether they were too long or not? not uness i wanted them taken out, other than that they would be in there for life just like the screws in my ankle haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAOLE Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 oh and i have no feeling in half my foot haha. but i didn't even notice that for like 3 months. I dont know if I would chuckle about that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virgo420 Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 I work for a Trauma Center in town - looking a your x-ray, the screws definitely are not too long. Too short is the big bad thing, those are just about right. If you did this last October, it is probably way too soon to take anything out, especially since your femur was badly comminuted. Regarding your numb foot - if it interferes with function - as in walking - you need a referral to someone for an EMG, you may have damaged a nerve. You had a nasty injury dude! Good luck with the rest of your recovery! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 I work for a Trauma Center in town - looking a your x-ray, the screws definitely are not too long. Too short is the big bad thing, those are just about right. If you did this last October, it is probably way too soon to take anything out, especially since your femur was badly comminuted. Regarding your numb foot - if it interferes with function - as in walking - you need a referral to someone for an EMG, you may have damaged a nerve. You had a nasty injury dude! Good luck with the rest of your recovery! I think you're looking at the wrong screws. Those are the ones in his ankle. He was talking about the screws in his knee being the ones bugging him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
virgo420 Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 The x-ray he posted only had the knee screws in view - I didn't see the ankle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 I think I may be slightly retarded. True story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HAOLE Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 Regarding your numb foot - if it interferes with function - as in walking - you need a referral to someone for an EMG, you may have damaged a nerve. Yep! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirks5oh Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 you need to post the AP film, all i see is a lateral. i can't tell shit from the x-ray you posted except that you had a segmental femur fracture--if it healed without a second procedure (bone grafting), consider yourself a lucky person, and move on--no lawsuit necessary. if you're a thin person, there might not be much covering the bone. a lot of times these screws only come in 5mm increments, and you'd rather have the screw slightly long than not long enough. these screws very commonly cause the problem you're describing. they are frequently taken out for the very reason you're mentioning. was it an open fracture??--bone coming through the skin. also who did the surgery and where was it done?? what were the circumstances of the injury. people are always looking to sue, when you have no idea how lucky you are that the fracture looks healed on the one x-ray you showed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted March 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 i'm not looking to sue i just don't think i should have to pay all of it. i don't have a copy of the other view where you can see the screws comming threw the bone and poking the skin. they took them out at 9:01 this morning. my bone is healing very well but i don't have the latest X-ray, the one i posted was 2 weeks after i broke it. it did not go threw the skin i was very luckey on that part. Sanjay Mehta at Grant is the one that put me back together and he said it was ok to take them out the bone is healed enough. the loss of feeling in my foot doesn't affect anything i just can't feel half of it. if i had the other X-ray you can see the very bottom one closest to my knee is too long and went threw the other side and was poking the skin, there was a bump and you could feel and see it. what i think happened on my foot is when i broke it and they keept moving me around and shit i think it damaged the nerve, the bones you see in the X-ray are not as bad as before they put the rod in, there was about 8 or 9 bone fragments. these are the other two X-rays i have but they don't shoe the knee. http://myspace-146.vo.llnwd.net/01333/64/11/1333321146_l.jpg and http://myspace-023.vo.llnwd.net/01388/32/03/1388573023_l.jpg. they took out 3 screws and the one they left in is in a slotted hole to allow the rod to move up and down as needed to help protect my knee from any joint damage. thats what they told me anyways. if what i typed doesn't make any sence its because i'm still a little doped up, i just got home a little bit ago haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirks5oh Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 i still don't see the x-ray of the rod at the knee. i know dr. mehta, and worked with him while i was at grant. he is an orthopedic traumatologist. he does not really do anything else but trauma, so the surgery that he did on you is what he trained to do. he does not do sports, or hand, or total joints--all he does is broken bones. be thankful it wasn't done at a poe dunk shithole in the middle of nowhere. is your foot numb on top?? it is likely that the nerve damage was done during the initial injury. your leg was not meant to bend in the middle of the femur, and it is likely that the initial trauma stretched out the peroneal component of your sciatic nerve, which is pretty sensitive to stretching injuries. you will most likely not get that sensation back. at least the motor function of the nerve was not affected. you will have to pay for the surgery, and it is appropriate that you do so. it is highly unlikely that they fucked up--the symptoms you were having are a normal side effect of the surgery--nearly everyone gets symptoms from prominent hardware. i bet one of my buddies helped with your surgery today. good luck with the recovery, and post up the other x-ray. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted March 9, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 yeah my foot is numb on top, when i asked Mehta about the nerves he said they are to the side of where they did the cutting so i figured it happened somewhere inbetween getting me off the track to getting me in traction. i don't have the top view of my X-ray, i'll try and get a copy when i go back in two weeks. i know you prolly take offence to someone saying they messed up since its something you do but when they use too long of screw and it goes threw the other side of the bone and pokes into the skin someone messed up somewhere. there were 3 other screws and they didn't go threw. i was sent to Grant from Fairfield medical center in lancaster because they said they couldn't do it. i really wanted to go to Mount Carmal East, thats where my ankle was fixed and i've never had a problem there. They said "they couldn't take me there because its not an Ohio Health hospital like they are." pretty sure its my body but i was all druged up and couldn't function right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirks5oh Posted March 9, 2007 Report Share Posted March 9, 2007 yeah my foot is numb on top, when i asked Mehta about the nerves he said they are to the side of where they did the cutting so i figured it happened somewhere inbetween getting me off the track to getting me in traction. i don't have the top view of my X-ray, i'll try and get a copy when i go back in two weeks. i know you prolly take offence to someone saying they messed up since its something you do but when they use too long of screw and it goes threw the other side of the bone and pokes into the skin someone messed up somewhere. there were 3 other screws and they didn't go threw. i was sent to Grant from Fairfield medical center in lancaster because they said they couldn't do it. i really wanted to go to Mount Carmal East, thats where my ankle was fixed and i've never had a problem there. They said "they couldn't take me there because its not an Ohio Health hospital like they are." pretty sure its my body but i was all druged up and couldn't function right. they couldn't send you to Mt. carmel east because it is not a trauma center. the screws are designed to go all the way through the bone, so by definition, they will go through the other side. if they are 3-4mm too long, which is entirely acceptable and easily possible (because they only come in 5mm lengths), then you will obviously be able to easily feel them through your skin--like i said, it is a necessary evil, there's no way to avoid it, unless you make the screw too short, and then the nail has a higher probability of failing. i know you're not being accusatory, and i don't blame you for not wanting extra surgery, but consider yourself lucky that your femur healed--honestly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawnman Posted March 10, 2007 Report Share Posted March 10, 2007 I'll start from the beginning, October 2006 i broke my right femur and they put a rod and 4 screws in. 2 in my knee and 2 up by my hip. fast forward to December, swelling in my knee is going down still and i can finally sleep on my side but i need a blanket or pillow between my knees to keep it from hurting. same as now and the swelling is gone just scar tissue left but it still hurts to have my knees touching when I'm on my side. i was at the doctor Tuesday to get the all clear to go back to work and i ask him about it, so we go look at the X-rays and see that one of the screws that is in my knee is too long and went threw the bone and is poking my skin right where my knees touch. you can see a bump and feel it as well. so he tells me that if its bothering me they can take it out. my question is since they fucked up and used too long of screw and caused this to happen why should my insurance have to pay for this along with me having to pick up the rest the insurance won't pay? isn't that why they rape you in the ass the first time so cover there fuck ups? I have to be there at 6:45 tomorrow morning so they can cut into me at 8:30. I broke my left femur in Oct of 88. They did not take the rod or screws out until March of 90. I did not regain full movement , flexibility, strength and speed until 2 years after the break. When the screws were in my leg they hurt to the touch until they were removed. It is 20 years later for me now and the leg does not hurt 1 bit. However my knee that I had surgery on in 85 hurts so bad sometimes that I can't walk. Mt. Carmel did my surgery. 1 more thing. I had numbness for a couple of months. The numbness went from my groin { glad that feeling came back! } to lower thigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceGhost Posted March 10, 2007 Report Share Posted March 10, 2007 yeah my foot is numb on top, You should change your name to Mr. Deeds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted March 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2007 lawnman, did they put you in a cast? i know a few people that broke there femur in the 60's and 80's and they were put in a cast along with there rods and plates. i hit therapy hard and have 98% of my flexibilty back but still on the weak side. hows that weather treating you haha. its kickin my ass. SpaceGoast- i do have a black sock but i don't know how many people would get the joke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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