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Posted on Aug 22, 2017, 10:28 pm
#681

Quote from: LLprime2 on August 22, 2017, 07:22:38 PMHow did these accidental clicks happen? I thought you have to twist the leg quite a bit for each click.

When there are no bones or calluses formed, and the nail has been lengthened quite a bit, the angle to rotate becomes more and more easy/loose.

I have videos of when I first underwent surgery and it took hours to find a click at the most impossible angles, to the present, when I sit or lie down to sleep, an opening and closing click can be triggered without much movement.

That's why I have to wear a full leg brace at night, to avoid triggering any more accidental clicks.

My first accidental click happened about 2-3 weeks after finishing lengthening, when I was in a bathtub with both knees drawn to my chest.  There was a loud snap followed by incredible pain.  Upon calling the doc in a panic, I was asked to try close the click - and in doing so, we confirmed it was in fact an accidental click vs my overactive imagination.

It's super counter intuitive, that it starts off being impossibly difficult and causing so much anguish to find one click ; to a later non-fusion stage where unwanted clicks happen all too easily with the slightest knee flexion.

And should one fuse quickly (usually happens to younger men), clicking becomes quite traumatic.  This is when the boys were breaking down in tears at gym and why many of them quit earlier than the girls. 

Since girls fuse much slower, our clicking was relatively less stressful.  It's interesting that there's a perfect linear correlation where the older guys in our class lengthen the shortest amount from 3.5cm to the youngest ones (teens/early 20's) who got to 6-7cm.

And the one older guy (closer to 50s) I know who had painless clicking and got to 7cm is the very one who has non-union and is being treated with me at NHS.

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Posted on Aug 23, 2017, 11:17 am
#682

Quote from: Unicorn888 on August 22, 2017, 10:28:44 PMAnd the one older guy (closer to 50s) I know who had painless clicking and got to 7cm is the very one who has non-union and is being treated with me at NHS.

I'm in this older class of patients.  I was very concerned about non-union, mostly because of my age, but decided to lengthen to the upper end of the spectrum.  Luckily, things appear to be going well at this point (emphasis on luckily); I am going to very angry at myself if things suddenly go south. 

There is a big difference between considered the consequences of lengthening to much and proceeding with the risk and lengthening that occurs entirely by accident.  While Unicorn is deserving of our empathy, I will have deserved apathy and kick in the arse!  My demise will totally be on me and me alone.

I'm rooting for you Unicorn!

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Posted on Aug 23, 2017, 11:17 am
#683

Quote from: Unicorn888 on August 22, 2017, 10:28:44 PMAnd the one older guy (closer to 50s) I know who had painless clicking and got to 7cm is the very one who has non-union and is being treated with me at NHS.

I'm in this older class of patients.  I was very concerned about non-union, mostly because of my age, but decided to lengthen to the upper end of the spectrum.  Luckily, things appear to be going well at this point (emphasis on luckily); I am going to very angry at myself if things suddenly go south. 

There is a big difference between considered the consequences of lengthening to much and proceeding with the risk and lengthening that occurs entirely by accident.  While Unicorn is deserving of our empathy, I will have deserved apathy and kick in the arse!  My demise will totally be on me and me alone.

I'm rooting for you Unicorn!

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Posted on Aug 23, 2017, 10:28 pm
#684

Quote from: Four Inch on August 23, 2017, 11:17:35 AMI'm in this older class of patients.  I was very concerned about non-union, mostly because of my age, but decided to lengthen to the upper end of the spectrum.  Luckily, things appear to be going well at this point (emphasis on luckily); I am going to very angry at myself if things suddenly go south. 

There is a big difference between considered the consequences of lengthening to much and proceeding with the risk and lengthening that occurs entirely by accident.  While Unicorn is deserving of our empathy, I will have deserved apathy and kick in the arse!  My demise will totally be on me and me alone.

I'm rooting for you Unicorn!

Bravo Four Inch!!!  Keep up the good work!  We still cannot understand why one person fuses while another doesn't.  And in my case, why one leg fuses while the other won't.

My NHS doc thinks it's key to let a leg 'settle' for one week after osteotomy before lengthening begins; which I did for my left leg, provoking the ire of my previous doc. But at least my left leg is now fusing - which isn't happening w the right leg.

Other possible explanations include the nail being contaminated or too big (13mm), bony infection, poor vascular health, NSAIDs etc.

Or perhaps letting my fat cat sleep on my right leg at night cuts off all blood circulation... but how I can blame this face?

UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016

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Posted on Aug 24, 2017, 8:37 am
#685

Your cat has a "guilty as charged" look.  UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016

Quote from: Unicorn888 on August 23, 2017, 10:28:37 PM
Or perhaps letting my fat cat sleep on my right leg at night cuts off all blood circulation... but how I can blame this face?

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Posted on Aug 24, 2017, 5:04 pm
#686

Quote from: Four Inch on August 24, 2017, 08:37:14 AMYour cat has a "guilty as charged" look.  UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016

Definitely guilty!   Caught red handed (pawed) here... stealing from a cripple!  La vergogna gatta mia!

UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016

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Posted on Aug 24, 2017, 6:25 pm
#687

Oi oi, flirting is not allowed in this forum!  UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016

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Posted on Aug 25, 2017, 12:44 pm
#688

Ok, another verdict.

I've taken an xray this morning + seen my NHS doc too.

My left leg which was fractured, fused, rebroken and relengthened is currently showing very good bone consolidation.  It has however runaway as well and lengthened involuntarily by 10mm in the last one month.

My right leg however has ZERO activity.  There are no cysts and even with nuclear medicine, it shows ZERO activity.  The doc asked me to do a white cell count to rule out certain infections.

She says now I've 3 options to which I might resort, if all else fails :

1)  Bone graft with my hip bone + cadaver bone (doubtful it can fuse a 10cm gap)

2)  Change to trauma nails (smaller nail + reaming - might stimulate healing/bone growth)

3)  Change nail to Precice, shorten to zero, wait for callus growth and slowly restart lengthening at a very slow pace ensuring that the calluses are joining before lengthening further each time

Either way, she'll try to avoid operating on my left leg again.  She says I've suffered enough trauma to be subjected to further shortening UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016

So that's that folks!   The reality of lengthening gone wrong.

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Posted on Aug 25, 2017, 1:47 pm
#689


You have my sympathy UNICORN - Dr. Guichet Internal Femurs 8cm - Summer 2016
My doctors had to re-cut my left leg in March, and now there is no new callus, so I can feel your pain.

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Posted on Aug 25, 2017, 1:52 pm
#690

The only real solution imo is the third Unicorn.
I don't think you should reach to zero, even at 2-3 cm gap the bone may start to consolidate.

However lengthening 10 cm in your other leg was not a good choice as 10cm lengthenuing is too much and it will ruin your proportions, your gait and your athletic abilities.
If I was you I'd have stopped at 6-7 cm and shorten the other leg until it consolidates and reaches that amount.

Anyway now only shortening the bone gap can help you and precise is the best for you. Don't lose time with bone grafts, precise 2 is ideal for non unions so that's what the doctors should do on your case.
Insist on that.

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