Titanium rod in leg

[Brisco 0]

A few months ago my son's skydive training got put on hold due to a motorcycle accident which left him with a titanium rod in his leg. He's chomping at the bit to get back to skydiving but some folks have suggested that he have that rod removed (after all proper healing of course) before he jumps again, saying that if he were to break that leg again with the rod in there, he could be in serious permanent trouble or even lose his leg altogether, especially if that rod were to bend. This makes a LOT of sense to me, but he's thinking of jumping with the rod in place. Oh, and he's only got 13 jumps so far.

Does anyone have any knowledge of or experience with this? Any thoughts, suggestions, comments appreciated.

Brisco

Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want.

[skybytch 273]

I've heard both do remove it and don't. The doctor who put one in my ex's leg told him not to jump again for the same reasons your son is being told to remove his. He didn't listen, of course

The doctor that a good friend of mine saw told her to go ahead and jump with it in; the surgery needed to remove it would be involved and expensive and he felt that the leg was stronger with the rod in there.

Regardless of if your son leaves it in or has it removed, he really shouldn't jump again until he can run at least across a room without pain.

Being the mom-type and canopy nazi that I am, I can't help but mention... rod or not, you could use the broken leg as a real good reason for him to get a lighter wingloading for his first canopy...

[QuickDraw 0]

I just typed "jumping after an injury" in the search.
Some good advice here also:

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=126976#126976

-- Hope you don't die. --

I'm fucking winning

[smooth 0]

In regards to your son keeping or having the rod removed from his leg... that's entirely his choice. I still have a rod in my leg with no ill effects. My thinking at the time was that I didn't want them to cut me again unnecessarily. (and the option to have it removed was there) Note that ANY surgery is a risk.

[cobaltdan 0]

probably not to worry but:

i would seriously suggest that this a question for your sons orthopedist...(not this forum)

sincerely,

dan<><>

Daniel Preston <><>
atairaerodynamics.com (sport)
atairaerospace.com (military)

[billvon 2,990]

Pros of removing the rod:

-Care of a future fracture will be simplified if there is no rod there

Cons of removal:

-It's a significant and difficult surgery
-If it's a retrograde femoral rod, chances of early arthritis in your knee go up
-It requires a lenghty recuperation (6 months or so, although orthopods disagree on how long you really need)

Perhaps the best solution might be to leave the rod in and remove or alleviate the factor that caused the broken leg to begin with.

[4waynut 0]

I set the alarms off at airports with my surgical-steel-reinforced tibia. It's been there since Round 2 at Nationals in '98.

I opted to leave it in there and avoid another major surgery.

The requisite upsizing of my canopy and butt-sliding in the absence of any wind is, I think, a small price to pay for being back in the air and out of the OR.

[chuckbrown 0]

i would add that he shouldn't jump again until he can run across rough ground. you don't want an off-field landing ruining your day.

btw, i have 6 pins and a titanium plate in the tibia and two screws in the fibula from landing a parachute damaged in a CRW collision. I waited until I could run across the kind of field CRW dogs have come to know. Of course, now I spot MUCH more carefully:)

[kevin922 0]

Quote

I opted to leave it in there and avoid another major surgery.

Riight we all know you like telling people at the airport that it's the steel plate in your tibia

[4waynut 0]

I will say that at MCO (Orlando) and LAX no one pays much attention, but at JFK, both WDC airports, and good ol' Ontario, CA the alarm goes off and the security people call over a special guy in rubber gloves who looks at the scars from my surgery.

I will also say that nobody questions my CYPRES after observing the scars on my leg.

[Brisco 0]

Thanks to all for the input. Naturally the kid's going to speak with his doctor about the pros and cons, but it would appear the concensus here is to leave it in and be careful. Skydiving is way more important to him than motorcycling, so he's not going to replace the bike and is going to buy a brand new rig with the insurance money.

Thanks again,

Brisco

Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want.

[nicknitro71 0]

I have a rod and six pins in my forarm and it's permanent. It took me a ful year to recover but now it's as good as new. It really depends on the location of it and the initial intent. Mine was design to stay until I'm six feet under.

Memento Audere Semper

903

[Emberchariot 0]

On 11/30/2002 at 7:07 AM, Brisco said:

 

I have a rod in my left leg, which isn't my good leg btw and my brother also has a rod in his left leg,he broke it twice, mine was once. Your Drs have to advise you health and safety procedures it's part of their job. Your son's metal rod is not going to bend,please don't go telling others that,my physio assured me of this and he was one of this rare specialists in England, NHS specialist I may add. Your sons leg is sturdier then your leg with the rod in it, if he breaks it again, it's not going to bend it's just going to be broken and painful but his body will let him know that. My leg went like jelly when I broke mine. And whilst I'm only just recovering and after six months able to go to the gym,my brother ten years on is an amazing rower and he walks every where, plays squash, and probably other sports I don't know about,he broke his leg playing rugby and would still probably go back if his work wasn't so demanding. My advice to you is let your son live life and suffer  the consequences, thats what being an adult is. If he's sustained a motorcycle accident I understand that your worried but jumping itch all the safety procedures is hardly going to do worse. Sorry to sound harsh but since breaking my leg I'm a tough love kind of girl. My leg won't be the same and neither will your sons, but I know someone who runs marathons now and she broke her leg. If it's something your son wants to do you could do that with the him and prepare with all necessary procedures. 

edited to make it clear this is a not a quote of the original post

[JoeWeber 2,720]

On 12/1/2002 at 3:29 PM, billvon said:

Pros of removing the rod:

-Care of a future fracture will be simplified if there is no rod there

Cons of removal:

-It's a significant and difficult surgery
-If it's a retrograde femoral rod, chances of early arthritis in your knee go up
-It requires a lenghty recuperation (6 months or so, although orthopods disagree on how long you really need)

Perhaps the best solution might be to leave the rod in and remove or alleviate the factor that caused the broken leg to begin with.

Sorry for the delayed reply but I'm still getting caught up after a trip. I chose to have a femoral rod removed for the marrow regeneration and immune system benefits. It's really a no big deal surgery if you aren't too delicate.