Plaster cast related AIBU to ask for replacement ?

[albertcamus]

Back story : leg folded under me (f age 51, otherwise good health) on 28.12 : fractured tibia, fibula & small bone near ankle. Op under epidural next day, titanium rod fitted with 6 retaining screws. One day post- op pain, discharged 3 days later in no pain with small backslab. So far so good ... Until yesterday when local hospital re-did the backslab, leaving me with a bigger, heavier plaster which now means I can't really move at all, and the rest of my body is compromised even when lying down. This cast has now been on for 36 hours & has not fully dried, but cracked today down back. It's actually pressing on the bone / op site unlike the first one, which enabled me to hop around & get blood flowing round my whole body. Instructions are to elevate it, but even on a stack of pillows it rolls off due to weight & lack of integrity. Today it's made me shake & feel dizzy due to lack of deep breath. Am not on any other meds & have no symptoms of DVT etc, I just think the slab is poorly done.

Should I wait for Fracture Clinic appt next Monday when it will be replaced by a lighter cast ?

Thanks for any advice

[Imnotaslimjim]

Next Monday seems a long way off if you're really struggling. Can you call them in the morning and ask for advice?

[LettuceAndPotatoes]

I had the same problem as you OP, I ended up hiring a wheelchair just to get around due to the weight of the cast I had to carry around with me.

At my next appointment for a new cast once they had removed my old one they weighed it because they couldn't believe what I had to carry around, they even showed it to others in the hospital because they were perplexed by the sheer weight of the thing.

I would definitely go back and show them how much you are struggling, I wish I had at the time, I can't see it being a problem to re-cast it now.

[LettuceAndPotatoes]

I also had to be operated on so I know how shit it is

[albertcamus]

Thanks all, esp Lettuce:) I had been managing really well up til now, but this deadweight is compromising my whole body. They act as if an appointment in the Fracture Clinic's the Crown Jewels, should I just rock up there tomorrow & expect to have to get stroppy ?

[dogscatsandbabies]

From what you've said I think the biggest problem is that it's cracked- I assume they don't want you to move your ankle yet and it may not immobilise you properly now. POP is very heavy stuff and isn't ideal for this purpose, it does crack under its own weight if not circumferential.

I would ring. If the screws come loose and the plate moves cos your ankle is wobbling around you'll wish you had!

[AnyFucker]

You can hire a wheelchair from the Red Cross, Google the number for your local area

that cast doesn't sound right, I would go back

[albertcamus]

Wow eric they gave you pot ? That's way out !!!!

[dogscatsandbabies]

Don't get stroppy!! Fracture clinics are always busy and it will be difficult to squeeze you in. Just explain that you don't need to see a Dr, you just need the plaster room. Be prepared to wait though.

[albertcamus]

Right, I'm back there tomorrow requesting / demanding a replacement ... I don't want the originally well-done op compromised by this cracked deadweight.

Thanks for your sympathy & advice fellow- sufferers, I thought this broken leg thing was going to be a fug of TV watching & cups of tea :(

[albertcamus]

Sorry derek I thought pot was a typo for op! how or what is a pot in this context ? that you fought through @ such a young age

[albertcamus]

Cast-gate update : went to the Fracture Clinic, they saw me straight away & removed the cast, which was cracked & pointless. They did not accept my report of the effect it had on my whole body, very colleague-covering attitude. I refused to have another one like it, so a doctor looked at the x-rays and said I could go without due to the rod & 6-screw repair. So now am back in bed with it resting on pillows & not having to bear that deadweight. Is POP really the only thing they can use in today's world ? It's worse than the original injury & operation !

[crazykat]

I broke my ankle over ten years ago and had a lightweight pot/cast. I'm not sure what it was but it was brilliant, until the swelling went down in my leg and I could pull it off so had to have a new plaster pot which was so heavy.

[albertcamus]

I'm lucky that the repair work is a rod & 6 screws, so now I have no cast at all. It hurts more than it did, but my body was not coping with that cast. Thanks for all replies, just getting your opinions/thoughts made me feel better last night :)

[albertcamus]

Derek that sounds awful! mine is all inside the leg. Glad you made full recovery
desperately I'm hoping I don't need one now, but agree that pain, heavy POP with no compromise can't be the only thing on offer, surely ?
quietbat your exp is same as mine! did you have a cast @ first ? How long did it take you to walk again ? Can I PM you ?

[42bunnytails]

The second time DD broke her arm, I discovered the plaster room had a direct number and it was possible to get repairs done without going through the hell that is fracture clinic.

[albertcamus]

Yes, they gave me that today42, great to deal with them directly. Would hate to have DC with broken bones, poor babies ...

[CallMeExhausted]

I am glad you were able to rid yourself of the cast - but please do be careful outside if it is slippery.

I am currently in a cast - have been in one sort or another since my injury in September - had a surgical repair at the beginning of September.

It will still be some time until I am able to bear weight on my foot, but have been using an iWalk 2.0 hands free crutch . It has been a godsend - I can get around and still use my hands. SO much better than traditional crutches.

My cast is made of fibreglass - and probably weighs 25% of what an equivalent POP cast weighs. It is thinner, as well, and breathes nicely. It still has a standard lining, so it is not supposed to get wet, so I use a cast cover for bathing.

All the best to you in your recovery - I hope it goes smoothly.

[CallMeExhausted]

Oops - repair was at the beginning of December, not September.