i broke my collar bone sunday during a race when i almost endoed a triple. i decided to bail when my bike underrotated due to engine brakeing as i left the face. i was seen today by a orthopedic surgeon. he told me that i was going to need surgery and that it would involve him putting a metal pin through my collar bone. does anyone know anything about this? i didnt really get to ask too much cause he was busy and ran off. but i was curious as to how long i can expect to be down and what the pin will be like. thanks for any info at all.

I have revised dozens of those pins to Accumed plates after the pins failed.  At our hospital, one of those pins migrated into the heart after it came loose resulting in the patient's death.  

And beyond that, after the pin surgery, you must remain in a sling and not use the part.  After the collar bone is plated, the guy can start active exercises the next morning.

And beyond that, everyone with the pin has to have it removed at three months.  To date we have only removed two of over one hundred plates that we have installed.

Insteresting, I spoke with a rider today from California who had the pin, then had it removed at three months, and is  immediately felll apart. Now he is going to need more surgery.  You may hear from him on this thread.

We did another rider from Chicago's third operation last month. The first was pin installation, then pin removal, and then prompt reangulation of the fracture.  You may hear from him too.

Dr mark is refering to me -Doug from Chicago. DON'T LET ANYONE PUT A PIN IN YOUR COLAR BONE!!!!!!! I broke mine riding last summer 7-29-07
My Ortho said wait 8 weeks and see if it heals by itself. Then after that did not work He said lets put a pin in there and it will be all better- what a joke!!
I was in constant pain the whole time the pin was inside me. I had better range of motion before the pin than after. Then after the pin was removed things were much better and I thought I was  good to go. I even did some very easy riding. After about 8 weeks after the pin was removed my shoulder started feeling weak and had lots off clicks and pops while moving the joint.
I went to see the doc again for what I thought was my final check-up. He took another xray and says to me he wants to plate my colarbone because it has not healed coorectly. I wanted to choke the guy right then and there. I asked him about plating the c-bone before the first surgery but he said the pin was a much better option. Then I found Dr Mark here on thr forum and started reading and got educated. Please don't make the mistake I made you will suffer greatly if you go with the pin. I am now 6 weeks post op and my c-bone feels great. I will be sending new xrays to Dr Mark to make sure I'll all healed up just like all the others on TT. If you want any info on the pin procedure call me 224-629-6410 I would hate to see aanyone go though what I went through. I lost a hole year because off misguided Ortho Doc.

KTM2smoker said:

Go see Dr Mark and get it fixed right the first time.  I had a local ortho screw mine up.  Went to Houston last Dec after 6 months and a non union.  Dr Mark fixed and I couldn't be happier.

ok its been a while but i went to the doc today. we took xrays of it and it actually looks pretty sound. i dont really have so much as a pin as i do a 5 inch long screw. i really dont have any pain unless i try to raise my arm above my head. its really to early to say how its going to turn out but it is definitely lined up and held in place rather well. im not sure what type of pin you have used or had but im not really experiencing anything bad. i get more motion each day and my joints are fine. i think my doc might have got it right.

We will all be praying for you.

Hey KTM2
Glad to hear its going well. I had the same screw in my c-bone. It has threads just like a deck screw. All I can say is be very gentle with your c-bone once they take it out. Mine came apart after they removed the pin/screw. Everyone is diffent and I hope you have better luck then me.

Second Ortho i went to said he wanted to use a pIN...I talked to Dr Mark so told the ORTHO NO THANKS...saw 4 docs total...then decided to let the best and most experienced doc i could find to fix my clavicle and pout it back in its correct anatomical position....Dr Mark did an amazing surgery and I am ABSOLUTELY 100%...my surger was on Feb 18th, 2008....

Good luck everybody is different....can we see an Xray...that would be interesting to see what the Piin/Screw looks like...

Scotty J.

KTM2smoker said:

famous last words, lol. For your sake, I hope you are correct. My personal experience in thinking someone got it right when he was going against the experienced medical advice of dr mark is that he didn't really get it right, and it cost me a bunch of money and time to get it right in the end.

Hope all goes well with your healing. Part of my concern is your statement "i didnt really get to ask too much cause he was busy and ran off".  We all know our surgeons are very busy and scheduled heavily, but I can assure you, the Sanders Clinic team spends ample time making sure you are fully understanding and comfortable with the process before, and after the procedure! Patients...Beware those who don't take the time to communicate to your satisfaction !!!

Hope all is going well KTM2,

Just had a pin/screw inserted in the clavicle myself. Pain still kills me when the painkillers wear off, even after a month.  Hopefully these next 2 months fly by fast and union occurs - cant wait to get this out of me.  

Not sure whose correct but the Ortho told me after 2 weeks(post-op) to stop using the sling and I did, but everything Ive been reading says I should stay in the sling till the pin comes out?  

Other than that x-rays still look good, is looking like everything is healing nicely.

Dr Mark plated my right collarbone back in Jan 18th. The next day I was lifting my arm over my head and had FULL range of motion. The second day after surgery I took my daughter to some malls to do a little shopping. The 4th day we flew home and Monday I was back at work.

Moral here, Dr Mark is the man when it comes to clavicle breaks. I am sure he is a top Orthopedic as well but I can only vouch for his clavicle work. I'd score it a perfect 10 out of a possible 10!

NYMXer said:

+1....exactly

+2!!!!!!

ok well i know its been a long time since i posted back. i have really been busy with school. i went to the ortho yesterday and we took some xrays. the calcuim is really starting to harden now. more so on the bottom and its kinda working its way to the top. i go in in a week to have it removed. i havent had any pain for about a month and a half and i stopped wearing the sling like 3 weeks ago. i have had full range of motion for about a month. when i went in for my 6 weeks the doc was telling me that when the bone starts to heal that the calcuim around the fracture sight is actually a liquid at first and makes like a bubble around it then it starts to harden and thats why he says we didnt see much healing at the 6 week xrays. i was skepitcal about this at first but he told me he was feeling around in there and he is sure that it was going to be good to go in 8 weeks. so here we are at the 8 week point and he says its ready to go. i get it out next thursday. i have been feeling really good about it. i am actually lifting some weights to get my strength back up and dont expiereince any pain. im going to go easy on it though when i get it out cause it doesnt have a metal reinforcement any more. thanks for the posts and the prayers.

ScottyJFZ1 said:

+3.  No matter how much we preach some will never follow. Until they are hit right between the eyes with a baseball bat

GO TO DR MARK

Most people have to learn the hard way.

DrMark said:

How correct you are.  Hope all is well

yeah well... i just had my post surgery follow up today. took some xrays and i got a pretty good calcified knot at the fracture point. i had the pin removed like 2 weeks ago and i am pretty much back up to about 90%. im going to take it easy for about 2 to 3 weeks before i get too crazy just cause. wanted to let you know how it went. i was able to keep the pin... actually a screw that is about 4.5 inches long. kinda reminded me of a stainless steel deck screw. thanks for posting. sorry Dr. Mark but the local guy is just a little more convienient for us and the insurance company. they say who we go to really. thanks all.

One thing everyone should understand is all the orthopaedic literature to date shows the union(healing) rate for clavicle fractures is the highest with nonoperative treatment, treating these without surgery has a >99% healing rate where as surgical treatment has only a 97% healing rate. This is due to all the dissection and soft tissue stripping required to reduce(align the bones) the fracture, no matter how meticulous the surgeon is soft tissue stripping is inevitable, this is why surgical treatment has a higher nonunion rate.  This is the case with the plate or the screw.  The proposed advantage of the screw is it requires less soft tissue stripping.  The soft tissue (the periosteum) is the major blood supply that allow fractures to heal.  Surgical treatment is most commonly indicated for fractures that are widely displaced and therefore less likely to heal or where there is significant shortening(2cm) of the clavicle which alters the mechanics of the shoulder and may affect function in the long term.  No one has the right answer and all injuries should be taken on a case by case basis.  Beware of anyone who thinks plating the clavicle is the only treatment that works.  I have a large majority of patients having to have their plate removed because of prominence and subsequent pain, this especially the case with thin patients.  Also anyone who plans on carrying heavy objects, bags, or backpacks on their shoulder can place pressure right over this regionand  will often ask that their plates be removed.  As we have done for hundreds of years nonoperative treatment of clavicle fractures is still the standard of care.  Realize no matter what no treatment is perfect and all have their advantages and disadvantages.  No one can speed up biology so be patient and follow your doctors orders, they have spend thousands of hours learning to take care of you and most truly have your best interest in mind.