Wrist fracture -surgery?

[Wheech]

My wrist is fractured in several placws (colle's fracture I believe) and I've been in a back slab cast for just over a week. Gradual improvement, from no movement to being able to tie shoelaces and eat gingerly with cutlery plus slight mouse use and keyboard work. Was feeling optimistic. I'm in a high pressure job and the sole adult in the house. Back to the fracture clinic today and now I'm in a full cast. Finger and thumb movement is severely restricted, I can't even spread butter on toast and am up because I can't get a comfortable position for sleep. The cast is digging in to my inner elbow. I'm told it's fine. The weird angle of the cast means I can't wear a coat when out and obviously I can't drive . I don't think contact lenses will be doable and I don't have glasses.

I may have 5 more weeks of this. Alternative is surgery meaning 2 weeks in plaster and then several in a splint.

Please tell me your experienves and recommendations. What ais wrist surgery and the recovery like?

💯 surgery! I suffered a spiral fracture mid humerus and spent 7 months trying everything going to heal it. Finally surgery one Saturday morning home by tea time and has been great ever since!

I had this exact fracture (plus the ulna for good measure but it was just cracked) and had to have the surgery immediately after manual reduction failed (the a&e docs trying was really not pleasant - despite fentanyl).

before I tell you my experience it’s important to mention that I was not living in UK at the time so this is a mix of a public a&e and private healthcare follow up - recommendations and treatment are likely different.

I was given a split cast over my bandage after the surgery only for a few days until my first check up, then I used a sports style wrist splint for the rest of the recovery. It was painful for a few days post surgery, but managed on ibuprofen and I was managing to function again pretty well within a week. I had a lot more movement than you are describing now. It wasn’t weight bearing for ages but I could very quickly use my fingers on that hand for balance and things like lenses absolutely. I adapted ways to open a jar using knees, bought hair clasps as couldn’t use a hair band. I was very lucky it wasn’t my dominant hand so was ok to write and use a mouse as normal etc. it must be so hard without another adult to support - how small are DC? I didn’t need support with wound care, one handed was doable. Pretty big scar which did get some looks due to location but it’s faded over the years and you wouldn’t notice it unless I showed you.

I needed physio to regain full range of movement which took a long while. I didn’t drive for 6 weeks. It was months before I could lean fully on that hand with any force (eg to lift myself out the swimming pool or do any weight bearing position) I was advised at the time by my orthopaedic doctor to have the plate removed again after healing as I was relatively young when it happened, but he did say if I had been older then he wouldn’t advise the non-essential second surgery. I am glad I had it removed as I was aware of it, my wrist was slightly thicker. But I imagine I would have got used to it. Recovery from that was very quick.

so sorry you are going through this. It’s a super common type of fracture and not at all pleasant.

I tripped over my dog and fractured my wrist. When went for the checkup they said the bone was further apart and not healing so had an op and a metal plate put in to hold it together. Op went well, healed nicely with no pain afterwards.

I’m currently in a cast after surgery on a radial fracture two weeks ago. I actually broke it a month ago and had manual adjustment a week later 😱. It seemed to be healing, but then they decided it needed pins as it was still misaligned.

I did ask the surgeon whether it would hurt more than the break and he said yes; it did. I still can’t use the hand at all as the fingers are so painful - I can hold the lid of the toothpaste now and screw it on with the other hand but couldn’t screw with the left. Can’t do my bra, or zips, or put on the waterproof sleeve for the shower by myself as I can’t flex or push the hand. Can’t prepare food apart from cereal or someboule or microwaved from a packet. I’m so glad this didn’t happen when I had young DCs at home; I couldn’t have managed at all without DH.

What has the consultant said? Are they offering you surgery as a means of facilitating healing, or because the bones are misaligned? Would surgery involve a plate, or pins/wires? I had it because the break was in my dominant hand and I wanted to maximise the chances of regaining full movement.

From the comments it seems there’s a wide variety of results and healing times, which obviously depends on which bones are involved/severity of break etc. I’d be asking questions of the orthopaedics if I were you.

From the comments it seems there’s a wide variety of results and healing times, which obviously depends on which bones are involved/severity of break etc. I’d be asking questions of the orthopaedics if I were you.

So true @Agoddessonamountaintop and I hope your recovery speeds up.

I spoke with a different consultant today and he was great, answered all my questions really patiently and said it was entirely up to me and it would be ok to change my mind either way. I've agreed to go back in a week for another X ray. If all is healing ok I can progress to a splint after another week. Otherwise we'll go for surgery next week. Sounds reasonable as the outcome should be similar and this way I don't risk complications from avoidable surgery.

Really appreciate the different perspectives, thanks everyone.

Oh and I managed to get the contact lenses in. Where there's a will there's a way!

Ah that sounds like you’ll be getting a much fuller picture; having an operation is quite a big thing in that it basically puts you back to square one so it’s not something to go into without being fully informed (which my doctors were good at doing so hopefully yours will be too).
Thanks for your good wishes; I hope yours heals speedily too. It’s a drag!

A few years ago I had a displaced fracture of the wrist which healed badly. They had to re-break it under anaesthetic, and had the same choice as the OP, a traditional cast or surgery with pins. I chose surgery with pins, and the relief from the pain was almost immediate. The recovery time was quite short, and because of the pins, I didn’t need a cast or backslab, so mobility was restored. I’d say it’s a no-brainer - surgery every time.

Accidental duplicate.

Accidental duplicate.

Which bone did you break @LoserWinner? Just curious because it sounds like your experience was pretty much the opposite to mine - glad to hear the surgery can bring instant relief like that though.

Radius. I slipped on ice walking down a steep hill, put out my arm to steady myself, and then my feet slid out from under me and I landed on my extended hand. The impact sheared the bone at an angle, and telescoped the lower segment about a centimetre upwards. They tried to manipulate it into place in A&E, put a pot on, and gave me an appointment for ten days later. It was excruciatingly painful and I was unable to use that hand at all. By the time I went back for my appointment, it had started to set out of place, hence the need to re-break it.

Ouch, that sounds awful! Same bone as mine weirdly but my break doesn’t sound as drastic as yours - however, the pins have proved to be quite debilitating. Just hoping they do the job; I am slowly gaining more motion in the hand so fingers (metaphorically) crossed. For you too OP.

Get some glasses asap! Even if it's just a cheap pair - contact lens wearers have an increased risk of infection and you need something as a back up!

I had a plate and pins for a colles fracture nearly 3 weeks ago.
i had actually broken my wrist last year, not able to have surgery at the time .
this time it feels easier, i am avoiding any heavy lifting but can do buttons, undo bars and even went fruit picking earlier.. maybe should be doing less..?

What did you decide in the end @Wheech , abd how’s it going?

Hi @Agoddessonamountaintop I've been in a splint for almost 3 weeks now, no surgery unless things change. Got an appointment this week to see how things are going. I've very little movement in the wrist 5 weeks after the break, but feel I'm recovering in that I'm able to do more and more with the right hand. How's your recovery going?

Ah glad to hear the hand’s making progress. Mine’s getting more movement too but still painful and I can’t actually use the hand at all yet. I’ll be going back next week and hopefully not needing the splint afterwards. I’m doing the exercises to get movement but of course that brings its own challenges! Mine’s a distal radius fracture which it seems (re. Dr. Google) can take six months to a year to get back to normal after surgery. Best of luck for good healing!