Femur Non Union

[gatling]

Anybody in here have any experience with femur non unions? I crashed a little over 3 years ago and broke my femur in two places. They put on a plate. Top fracture healed; bottom one did not. After about a year the plate broke. I had a second surgery in which they removed the plate and used a rod. You can guess where this story is going. It, too, recently broke. I go back to the doc tomorrow to find out what the game plan is for Round 3. Just wondering if anyone here has also gone through this and what you found. Thanks in advance.

[TimTowtdi]

I am recovering from a broken femur fixed with a intramedullary rod. Only 8 weeks in, so no first hand experience with non-union, but I have found a lot of info on www.http://ehealthforum.com/. There are several ortho docs that post there, and lots of chatter about broken femurs. HTH and hopefully you heal this time around.

[74C5]

Being of critical mind, I'll ask, are you too active on it?

[gatling]

Originally Posted by 74C5

Being of critical mind, I'll ask, are you too active on it?

I don't think so. I adhered to the doctor's guidance both times.

But thanks for the question.

[homerj]

Originally Posted by gatling

I don't think so. I adhered to the doctor's guidance both times.

But thanks for the question.

Do you smoke? Had a friend with tibial non-union, and a boss who'd suffered from vertebral non-union. From what I read and was told nicotine is a huge factor in non-union.

[homerj]

Originally Posted by gatling

I don't think so. I adhered to the doctor's guidance both times.

But thanks for the question.

Do you smoke? Had a friend with tibial non-union, and a boss who'd suffered from non-union in his shoulder. Both were told it was the smoking. From what I read and was told nicotine is a major factor in non-union.

[gatling]

I don't smoke, I don't drink very much, and I did everything I was told to do. What I was really looking for is if anyone has had this problem and what their experience has been.

[rapidoxidationman]

My tibia didn't want to heal. I don't smoke, but did have a thing for soft drinks (phosphoric acid doesn't help at all with bone healing and calcium retention). I was also probably WAY too active, so the two broken ends were never very stable against each other even though there's a stick of titanium in there now.

Have you tried any kind of ultrasound to stimulate bone growth?
http://www.exogen.com/patients/

Oddly enough, they feature the pic of a motorcycle rider on the page...

[Petzl]

I had 12 full thickness fractures in the tib and one in the fib, also one in the scalphoid. Non unions in the scalphoid and tibia. 6 months in a wheelchair etc... they finally did electrical bone growth stimulation. Seemed to work for me.

[markbvt]

My femur was broken August 10, 2011, by an SUV that plowed into me. The orthopedists bolted me back together with a titanium rod that runs inside the bone from my knee to my hip. I was hobbling around on it with a walker within a week, followed soon by crutches, and after six weeks I was cleared to walk on it with a cane. The docs were pleased at how quickly the bone was remodeling. It's now fully healed and back to normal.

Obviously people heal differently. But if it's been three years and you're still having trouble with it, you might want to seek out a really good orthopedist.

--mark

[Bigger Al]

I had a stainless rod in my right femur for 19 years. It was the result of a broadside hit from a car. I had no issues at all, and had the rod removed to make way for a new hip. Took 88 swings of a 3-lb. surgial slide hammer to get it out, too. I carried it on my KLR for a couple of years to use as a prop rod for tire work. It's bolted to the luggage rack just below the license plate.



As has been stated, it might just come down to the differences in healing between individuals.

Good luck!!

[Racersteve]

I don't have any tips, other than get a great orthopedic to give you the best advise and treatment possible. I have heard of TENS units stimulating the bone to encourage healing. Metaphysically, know that every rider on this forum wishes you well and speedy recovery so you can get out and do what we all like to do. Maybe spend 10 minutes a day relaxing and thinking about having your body heal. my 2 cents.

[everycredit]

Don't do anything independently.

Different procedures are used and surgeons try to be the least invasive possible. Some options are another rod (I assume the previous rod ran adjacent to the femur), a rod going down the middle of the femur, and bone grafts.

[D R]

If plates and rods aren't helping, ask your doctor if they know anything about Coral Chemistry.

http://www4.nau.edu/shustercourses/B...7/Pool1995.pdf

(note the date of the article is 1995 and only the part on page 1772 applies)

[No False Enthusiasm]

Originally quoted by Bigger Al:

...Took 88 swings of a 3-lb. surgial slide hammer to get it out, too. ...

"Use a bigger hammer!"... my tank platoon sgt's answer to everything...

OP, sorry to hear of the non-union. Is it time to consider a new doc?

NFE