Tibial Plateau Fracture Recovery

[justathought]

32 weeks post accident
31 weeks post-surgery

Looks like an interesting device. Yours sounds different than many of the TPFs here. I had one of the top docs in the country (former head of orthopedic trauma at Mayo) and I did not have any option that was no surgery. 2 plates and 15 screws to fix 9 major pieces and a bunch of small ones was the only option I had. I also had external fixation (to keep alignment and length while waiting for inflammation to go down) for 10 days but I have heard of others that had it for months. The different procedures that many have had hardware in/hardware out, braces/no braces, from 4 weeks non-weight bearing to 4 months (my case), external fixation/no external fixation and sometimes surgery/no surgery is quite confusing. What we need is a first class orthopedic surgeon to explain all these differences.

Jim

It would be so nice to have more information as you mention..... Since most of these are trauma injuries, there is little time to research options. In fact, I was first taken to a suburban hospital outside of Boston. They did a great job in the ER, but there was no ortho in that afternoon. With an x-ray and CT, the ortho suggested that they send me home on crutches with a minimal brace. Luckily, two thing happened, I almost passed out because of the pain prompting the ER doc to hesitate to discharge me and I had a fabulous GP who made himself available and consulted the ortho dept at his suburban hospital. My GP was advised that there are only a handful of surgeons qualified to handle complex TPF and they are all located at major metro hospitals. Working with the ER doc, they were able to get me to a Boston ortho trauma surgeon, but it took some doing. These trauma guys are busy and in high demand.

The truth is there was no time to research where to go and I was lucky to have a GP I really trust and to be located near Boston.

[Markxz]

Justathought, we are very close surgery wise, I may have had mine done the day before you. It will be interesting to see how well or similar our recoveries go.
After reading some of the other posts I'm glad our hospital system does not differentiate between insured and uninsured patients.

[justathought]

[QUOTE=Markxz;3857914]Justathought, we are very close surgery wise, I may have had mine done the day before you. It will be interesting to see how well or similar our recoveries go.
After reading some of the other posts I'm glad our hospital system does not differentiate between insured and uninsured patients.[/QUOTE

Markxz -- its nice to have someone who is near the same point in their recovery -- sounds like we are both working hard at recovery. I too am delighted that all people get care in our system... so discouraging to hear some of the problems people have encountered.

Keep me posted on how you are doing --- I'll do the same.

[itsdeenah]

Hi Paige, sorry to hear you're in pain like that - I know how it feels!! sad face my symptoms started back in Sept. when I went FWB. The OS thinks I tore apart my cartilage and it was pinching a nerve in the back of my leg (very sharp pain took my breath away if I striked my heel or set my foot down too hard) and sticking out the front pushing on my knee cap constant pain!! It was a constant dull aching pain and felt like I needed to change position every 1/2 hr even though that didn't really help. Also, I couldn't flex my quad because of the pain so it withered away. I could tell my PT guy was getting upset like I wasn't trying but he didn't realize the soft tissue damage was severe and painful everytime we did anything. ughh frustrating. I kept saying it feels like something is sticking in there...low & behold right there on the MRI 2 months later BAM! just like I thought torn cartilage all over, tons of scar tissue sticking to everything what a mess! I still have all my hardware but the scope really helped with pain and is allowing me to walk again. I still don't have over 110 ROM and it doesn't flatten out like I want but everyone seems to notice I'm walking alot better. Anyway, really hope they get to the bottom of it for you so you have some relief. Keep us posted on what happens and thank god it's almost next year because this one sucked for all of us ! Cheers to next year!! ♥ Deana

I'm glad to hear of your success! I am curious though of your symptoms, here is my story:

You can read my signature for details of my injury. Since surgery I was in PT for 3mo, doctor told me to give it a months rest due to the pain I was still having to see if it subsided, it hasn't. I have pain medial, front, mid-line that is anywhere from about a 2 - 8, it seems to vary. I also have a dull achy pain in the back of the knee mid-line. Also, I have pain and popping/clicking under the knee cap not a grind but a pop. I am stilling having pain on the lateral side where the plate/screws are and can the pain worse with shifting my weight while standing. My heel is still somewhat numb but not a debilitating numb. At times I also feel like my knee is hyper-extending. Does any of this sound familiar? I am pissed that it is the end of the year and I probably won't get in to see him until after the first of January in which case I have to start all over with my copays and deductibles. I tried to get them to do an MRI earlier on be he refused because he said even if he found anything he would do any surgery until at least a year had passed. I work on my feet as a waitress. I have gone back to work w/o his permission working on the slow days and not pushing myself too hard. We are however coming up on our money making time of snowmobiling and this will soon end!

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Paige

[Markxz]

Keep me posted on how you are doing --- I'll do the same.

Sure will.

I also just read your original post and we injured ourselves on the same day. Originally in my post I wrote 11/11/12, must have been late at night when I wrote that because it was actually 2nd Nov 12. I'm not too far off you age wise either at very close to 52 (couple more days).
My range is getting better every day and I attribute this to the swelling reducing,massage, heat bags and hard work. My only let down has been my skin graft which was at 95% but due to the humidity here at the moment and the wound getting moist and hot has gone back to 90%.

[justathought]

Sure will.

I also just read your original post and we injured ourselves on the same day. Originally in my post I wrote 11/11/12, must have been late at night when I wrote that because it was actually 2nd Nov 12. I'm not too far off you age wise either at very close to 52 (couple more days).
My range is getting better every day and I attribute this to the swelling reducing,massage, heat bags and hard work. My only let down has been my skin graft which was at 95% but due to the humidity here at the moment and the wound getting moist and hot has gone back to 90%.

Wishing you a happy upcoming birthday! And hoping that your skin graft keeps healing..... That is not something I had to deal with. So ...injuries on the same day - virtual partners......My ROM is at 90 ... And I am not supposed to go beyond that without approval from OS. Instead, working on maintaining as much muscle and strength as is possible without weight bearing. Jan 7 is next OS visit. My mantra seems to be keep working at it and go forward.... Talk to you soon.

[karpiel]

Those look like the sort of bolts I would use in reinforcing a supporting beam in a house!
Wish you a quick recovery.

[justathought]

Wishing everyone here a happy new year... Hope 2013 brings lots of great stuff everyone's way!!

[Markxz]

Those look like the sort of bolts I would use in reinforcing a supporting beam in a house!
Wish you a quick recovery.

Yes I thought they had a roofing screw look about them.
Have been told by my work rehab coordinator that they will eventually loosen. Interesting!
Started weight bearing on my leg today, so far so good, no real pain. Haven't walked too far as it feels so awkward. slow and i have a huge limp.

Happy New Year Recovery to you all.

[Decoy DeVille]

I just broke both of my legs 5.5 weeks ago at Keystone. I broke my right femur at mid point in two at a 45° angle of trauma. It was repaired with 1 Titanium rod, 2 screws in the hip, and 3 screws in the knee. I broke my left patella in two, my left tibia at midpoint, and my tibial plateau. It was repaired with 3 screws to the tibial plateau, 2 screws to the patella, 1 Titanium rod, 2 screws in the head of the tibia and 2 screws in my left ankle.

I'm still nwb on my left leg (tibia/patella/plateau) for 3.5 more weeks, but I'm curious if there is anything I can do at home to start strengthening my right quad (where I broke my femur) and my right hip. I'm already fwb on my right leg but after about 20-30 minutes of crutching around I have this excruciating pain in my right hip. Doc said today no fracture or strain in the hip socket. So that leads to muscles and tendons. Any exercises??

Doc doesn't want me starting PT until I can start weight bearing on my left leg too. I disagree due to the massive amount of atrophy occurring, but am following his orders.

[justathought]

Yes I thought they had a roofing screw look about them.
Have been told by my work rehab coordinator that they will eventually loosen. Interesting!
Started weight bearing on my leg today, so far so good, no real pain. Haven't walked too far as it feels so awkward. slow and i have a huge limp.

Happy New Year Recovery to you all.

Congrats on starting weight bearing and great to hear you have no real pain. I'm not surprised it felt awkward.... It's been so long since you've walked and things Take awhile before they feel normal again. Hoping I will follow you with weight bearing on Jan. 7.....

[justathought]

I just broke both of my legs 5.5 weeks ago at Keystone. I broke my right femur at mid point in two at a 45° angle of trauma. It was repaired with 1 Titanium rod, 2 screws in the hip, and 3 screws in the knee. I broke my left patella in two, my left tibia at midpoint, and my tibial plateau. It was repaired with 3 screws to the tibial plateau, 2 screws to the patella, 1 Titanium rod, 2 screws in the head of the tibia and 2 screws in my left ankle.

I'm still nwb on my left leg (tibia/patella/plateau) for 3.5 more weeks, but I'm curious if there is anything I can do at home to start strengthening my right quad (where I broke my femur) and my right hip. I'm already fwb on my right leg but after about 20-30 minutes of crutching around I have this excruciating pain in my right hip. Doc said today no fracture or strain in the hip socket. So that leads to muscles and tendons. Any exercises??

Doc doesn't want me starting PT until I can start weight bearing on my left leg too. I disagree due to the massive amount of atrophy occurring, but am following his orders.

Welcome to the board...sounds like quite an injury. I started rehab right after surgery even though I was NWB on my left leg and also limited to 0 to 30 degrees flexing.... The idea was to maintain as much muscle as possible with simple exercises like swinging the leg, lifting the leg to the side and the like.

[cbrou571]

Decoy DeVille- Sorry to hear about your accident sounds like a nasty one.
One thing I would recommend from my experience is to try and keep your leg STRAIGHT as much as possible. I am 11 months out and still trying to get my knee straight as I kept using a pillow under my knee due to pain and still paying that price. One exercise to try is to stand up and move your leg front and back, I still have tight hip flexors from keeping them immobile so much of the time.
One of my biggest struggles other than pain was depression, so lean on people to give you support and love it makes a big difference. You will get better but be patient and kind to yourself.
Good luck and wish you a great recovery!
-Christy

[Schmoopie]

Tomorrow will be 6 weeks from injury/surgery for me. I'm still non-weight bearing (6 more weeks to go, hopefully). I go back to the ortho clinic next Thursday. Getting out in winter on crutches sucks. My knee has been aching quite a bit lately. I've tried sleeping on my side, with the body pillow, and it seems to be aggravating the mcl and the knee. I'm back to sleeping flat on my back. The surgeon has said that I can start doing very, very light ROM with the knee. Unfortunately, I can bend it very little, and then it feels like the hardware is going to pop out of my knee. I really hope that feeling will go away after a while. Other than that, I've got nothing else. I'm still off work. Still no real shower. Going quite a bit stir crazy inside. Sleeping a lot and lounging in bed due to boredom.

[Casper2012]

Hi all old and new TPF members and happy new year. Let's hope the new brings us all good progress recovering. I haven't posted an update lately since my status hadn't changed but saw the OS last week and they called today to confirm my TKR is scheduled for Jan 16th. Hopefully after that Andy a long road of PT I'll be able to walk and get back to a somewhat normal life again. Best wishes to everyone.

[ejw88]

So, long-time lurker. 28 M, TPF Type II, meniscus tear on 6/18/12, surgery on 6/27/12. Plate and 11 screws. FWB after two months. ROM just about full. Just prior to 6-month follow-up, I started some light jogging at about 75% body weight. Really working on regaining muscle mass at this point.

However, just recently I had been doing a lot of standing and have since experienced some weird pain on the lateral side of my leg (where injury was sustained). It is generally near the plateau but also runs down the leg along with plate and sometimes even above the knee along the scar, but it is intermittent (not corresponding with certain motions really and I sometimes feel it just sitting). I wanted to see if anyone experienced something similar. I have a PT appointment coming up, but figured I'd check here.

Leg after three month follow-up:

[ejk725]

Decided I was getting a bit tired of only hearing about broken ankles on any of the groups on Facebook, so I decided to go ahead and make a new group for Tibial Plateau Fractures.

It is a closed group so that when you post you do not have to worry about everyone on your friends list seeing it (face it, we don't always have nice things to say!)... and it's also closed to keep the weirdo fetish people out (trust me, they are out there, I've ran into a few)..

Here's the link https://www.facebook.com/groups/tibalplateaufractures/

[Thedude1]

My girlfriend picked me up a little "neck pillow" that is basically a small intertube that is not connected, with a break in it, like a curved jelly-bean, i didn't think it was going to work at first glance, but it has been a real savior, not only in relieving the constant pressure on your butt bone, which i found invaluable in order to find comfort in the same position all the time, but moving it around to different areas really displaces the pressure in your area of choice and has allowed me some side action(in conjunction with other pillows to raise the calf and/or ankle at times), but the relief of switching the pressure points with that small neck pillow(partially inflated) makes it so i do not really need the side action as much. I'm 2weeks post op. 12/21 for plate and screws, but was in an Ex-fix before that since 12/3(injury) also using a vibrator massager(on my legs and backside) that is my best friend and without these two things, there is no way i could still be in this position for over a month...

[tinka333]

I'm 10 weeks post op and I have been FWB now for aprox 2 weeks and im crutch free for most of most days but in the last day or two i have been getting a wierd pain behind, below (worst) and above my knee cap. My knee cap seems to be getting stuck when i straighten my leg and then when i try and bend it pops and is really painfull. It's getting really painfull when i try and straighten my leg out in front of me while sitting in a chair (like im kicking) and painful when straightening with weight on it (like steping up a stair or standing up from a wall squat).

Anyone had this when FWB???
Im worried im damaging the cartalidge or miniscus or something.

[ejk725]

I made another post, but it had a link in it... and it hasn't been approved (yet), so I'm writing an expanded version of that post without an actual link.. lol

Recap: Type 2 TPF on 5 Nov 2012 as a result of an electric bicycle (scooter) accident. Surgery 6 Nov. Released from hospital 12 Nov. Zimmer and NWB until 10 Dec... now Zimmer-free (unless "in danger of falling") and feather-weight bearing. Moved back to my apartment (I live by myself, and had to stay with my Grandmother during the first part of my recovery since I couldn't a lot of things for myself) on 28 Dec.

Current Issues: Rebound headaches!!! Getting off the Dilaudid was fine, but man, getting off the Tylenol is making my brain rebel like crazy. Even had a headache wake me up at 5:30 this morning.. not impressed. Going to have to wean myself off very slowly I guess, which sucks, because I don't really need it for the leg at the present. Unless anyone else has any other suggestions?

Progress: Doing really well with my exercises, I think. Have only been to the outpatient physio at the hospital twice (got lucky, it's usually a 6 month wait to get into there because the cost is covered by the government... but I somehow got in right away! ) Definitely noticing that I almost have my entire ROM back, since it was crap before the accident anyway because of other issues. I may even now see improvement to my ROM, compared to what it was before! I'm still getting some tightness in my thigh when I push the ROM, but I'm very positive.

Facebook: I made a group! So far it's just me & Schmoopie... lol I just found that this thread is getting a bit hard to navigate because it's soooo large, and all the other Facebook groups (as nice as the people are), are about broken ankles. The group is closed, so you can request to join but have to wait to be added... this is so that you can post there without your whole friend's list seeing what you wrote (only group members will see it), and to help keep the weirdos out (and wow, are they ever out there!!). Just search on Facebook for Tibial Plateau Fracture Recovery to find it. Hopefully we can use it in addition to this thread.

Heck, here's the link... all you have to do is remove the spaces!! https:// www.facebook.com/ groups/ tibalplateaufractures/

[imajypsee]

I get weird pain in the knee all the time, especially when I'm standing for any length of time (TPF May 6th; surgery May 8th; FWB July 10th or so). Some days are fine; others I want to scream the pain is so bad. The pain is always present after I stand in one place for any long period.

So, long-time lurker. 28 M, TPF Type II, meniscus tear on 6/18/12, surgery on 6/27/12. Plate and 11 screws. FWB after two months. ROM just about full. Just prior to 6-month follow-up, I started some light jogging at about 75% body weight. Really working on regaining muscle mass at this point.

However, just recently I had been doing a lot of standing and have since experienced some weird pain on the lateral side of my leg (where injury was sustained). It is generally near the plateau but also runs down the leg along with plate and sometimes even above the knee along the scar, but it is intermittent (not corresponding with certain motions really and I sometimes feel it just sitting). I wanted to see if anyone experienced something similar. I have a PT appointment coming up, but figured I'd check here.

[imajypsee]

I don't get the "stuck" sensation with the knee cap, but I get the pain off and on since I started FWB. I'm 8 months (shy a few days) since surgery and have been walking without a cane (never had crutches, but did use a walker) since October. The pain is only when I'm standing, not when I straighten my leg or when I climb stairs (actually, going down is kinda hurt-ish).

I'm 10 weeks post op and I have been FWB now for aprox 2 weeks and im crutch free for most of most days but in the last day or two i have been getting a wierd pain behind, below (worst) and above my knee cap. My knee cap seems to be getting stuck when i straighten my leg and then when i try and bend it pops and is really painfull. It's getting really painfull when i try and straighten my leg out in front of me while sitting in a chair (like im kicking) and painful when straightening with weight on it (like steping up a stair or standing up from a wall squat).

Anyone had this when FWB???
Im worried im damaging the cartalidge or miniscus or something.

[justathought]

I made another post, but it had a link in it... and it hasn't been approved (yet), so I'm writing an expanded version of that post without an actual link.. lol

Recap: Type 2 TPF on 5 Nov 2012 as a result of an electric bicycle (scooter) accident. Surgery 6 Nov. Released from hospital 12 Nov. Zimmer and NWB until 10 Dec... now Zimmer-free (unless "in danger of falling") and feather-weight bearing. Moved back to my apartment (I live by myself, and had to stay with my Grandmother during the first part of my recovery since I couldn't a lot of things for myself) on 28 Dec.

Current Issues: Rebound headaches!!! Getting off the Dilaudid was fine, but man, getting off the Tylenol is making my brain rebel like crazy. Even had a headache wake me up at 5:30 this morning.. not impressed. Going to have to wean myself off very slowly I guess, which sucks, because I don't really need it for the leg at the present. Unless anyone else has any other suggestions?

Progress: Doing really well with my exercises, I think. Have only been to the outpatient physio at the hospital twice (got lucky, it's usually a 6 month wait to get into there because the cost is covered by the government... but I somehow got in right away! ) Definitely noticing that I almost have my entire ROM back, since it was crap before the accident anyway because of other issues. I may even now see improvement to my ROM, compared to what it was before! I'm still getting some tightness in my thigh when I push the ROM, but I'm very positive.

Facebook: I made a group! So far it's just me & Schmoopie... lol I just found that this thread is getting a bit hard to navigate because it's soooo large, and all the other Facebook groups (as nice as the people are), are about broken ankles. The group is closed, so you can request to join but have to wait to be added... this is so that you can post there without your whole friend's list seeing what you wrote (only group members will see it), and to help keep the weirdos out (and wow, are they ever out there!!). Just search on Facebook for Tibial Plateau Fracture Recovery to find it. Hopefully we can use it in addition to this thread.

Hey... Facebook group is a great idea... I searched but did not find it...... Can you email me the link. My email is lstoller@bentley.edu. Thanks

[ejk725]

https:// www.facebook.com/ groups/ tibalplateaufractures/

Remove the spaces!! lol

[Thedude1]

Had no idea there were so many recovering tibial plateaus...Hi, I'm Gary, I'm an arborist and had a bad day at the job. 20years of serious injury free ended on Dec. 3rd when i displaced my knee with a Type ll tpf. Did my best to reduce the fracture before the ambulance arrived. Doc called me an honorary orthepede. placed in Ex-fix for 3 weeks and finally got my definitive surgery on 12/21 in New York..ORIF with plate, screws and plaster. Released from hosp. on the 23rd, flew back to Tampa on the 24th, and havn't been seen since then...i've changed the dressings and removed the staples...icing and nursing, looks and feels great, i have 0 to 45 degrees down and pretty sure i have 2 more weeks to achieve 60degrees, but from what i'm hearing, the 0 extension is where the money is, hopefully i can get an appt. soon, (no med. insurance) otherwise i'll have to go the er route...but so far no pain in my knee really except for the incision area where the new hardware is, of course, but still taking a pill at night for everything else that seems to be hurting, most of which, my ass....lol good luck to all of you as we commiserate together lol welcome any questions or comments