Tibia IM rod removal?

I broke my right leg in 4 places and my left heel climbing run out slab.  Stuck with a tibial rod.  Is there anyone on this thread that wishes they wouldn't have had it removed?  I'm scheduled in a couple of weeks.  I had the screws out in June but still want the rod out. 

The only think that I wish I would have paid more attention to and been more careful was that incicion point, that said was sore for quite a bit longer. I wasn’t aware how weak it would be for so long time, and must have hit it on something in April, as it suddenly was in burning pain and formed a big bump on my knee. Not HO (wasn’t that much in trauma, I guess) but it’s still pretty hard extra thing on my knee. Not pretty, but not painful either. Dear sports ortho said, that it can be removed ”next time you come in” but won’t be worth the operation and recovery just for itself. As I rode my bike to Stanford Orthopedics he ended up with a note, that as long as you’re able to ride your bike to see me, it won’t be worth it. So having enough patience to allow your body to heal well...

Todd Berlier wrote: Just as an fyi. When I was in vet school they showed us a study that said, in people, there is a slight increase in osteosarcoma associated with internal fixation, although the significance was debated. 

I'm sorry.  To clarify, it's better to take it out?  Or, do you mean that no matter what I do there's an increased chance because at some point I had a rod?  

Thanks!

Ashley

Todd, No, I think these are all the factors we need to consider. There is always risks in the surgeries that we shouldn’t undermine. It’s bit higher than being hit by a car when going out walking, but it’s still better to be aware of the cars than not to. Yet we often chooce to rather go out and walk anyway. :) Just like parents always remind their kids to watch out as they run outside to play, doctors job is to remind us from the risks of the surgery. I think we are all here talking about this as something went wrong once, and we should be aware that it can happen again. But if it feels right thing to do, I’d rather persist and keep trying than learn to ignore that ”nagging presence” of the titanium in your body if it doesn’t feel right.

I’ve had the rod in my fibula since 2013 and nail still in the hip and I guess this winter will be the tipping point to estimate are the risks worth taking and the recovery process worth it...

I really appreciate everyone’s input! 

DON'T get the rod out if you don't have to. I was so skeptical; I really should have listened to my gut on this one.

I had my rod taken out of my leg (it was in for five years), because my doctor said it would help with my ankle pain. He seemed very confident (in fact he trains others in the procedure). I was on crutches for over a month. It's been five months, and I have knee pain every day. I'm much more limited now than ever before (I can't run for more than five minutes). Don't get it out unless you absolutely have to.

Now, I live in Madagascar... I really hope I can find a decent doctor that can figure out what is going on.

Has anyone else pain that worsens after the surgery?? My knee cap is higher than it used to be and there is a swelling under it.. 

Hi—I’m not a climber but in looking for information on removing tibial rods, I found your entry and wanted to ask how the removal went.  I have had a rod since a fall in 1998 and now need a total knee replacement, but they won’t do it until the rod is removed.  The trauma surgeon is willing to remove it but I am concerned about how much trauma might be involved.  I hope you had the results you were looking for & would greatly appreciate any info you might be willing to share.

Michael, I’m sorry to hear from your experience. :( It really sucks... Sounds like the procedure has caused trauma for the knee and good surgeon could drain it and that might help already. If just extra fluid, it can be drained out without operation. This has been done to my knee once when in MRI the cause was narrowed down. But I’m privileged, as the doctors at Stanford and the facilities are good. Now considering one more surgery in Finland, as have heard really positive feedback from Sakari Orava, and will be there next spring anyway. If you have the means to use a good doctor, keep looking.

Janet, There was much more trauma involved that I understood from the warnings earlier. It was worth it and would do it again. Just prepare, and make sure you have a good doc performing the operation. I live with constant pain in my right leg, but the pain after the removal was something totally different. And it took a while to get into mindset that it is just this hollow weird pain, that is part of the incredible way how my body is preparing itself back to new normal. Pain is better now, than it was with the rod in my leg. This has been the most gentle October since 2013 and my accident. I’ve been able to do much more and not be so chained down with the pain or low in energy... Usually the cold brought the tipping point, that my pain climbed from daily 5-6 to 7-9. Now it has gone up only to 6-7 and I treasure that....

So tread carefully, listen to the doctors and make sure you trust them... Good luck!

I’m actually scheduled for surgery on Monday. I’m attempting to manage pain through traditional Chinese medicine. That’s at least my initial plan. We’ll see how bad it actually hurts! . I’ll keep you posted so anyone making this decision will have someone else to talk to.  

Janet, I’m more than happy to discuss the recovery process with you, personally, so you can make an informed decision. I know everyone’s situation is different, but it helps to talk with others. 

I'm following this feed as I'm really wanting all my hardware in my leg removing. Broke my tibia and fibula skiing in March 19 and have a rod and 2 screws. I'm mobile but my leg feels heavy and painful. I get pain in screw area and down tibia regularly. I'm just living in constant pain to the point I feel Ive just accepted it and I shouldn't. I just don't feel like my leg is my own. I'm 36 and feel this has aged me. I'm due to ski again in March and had hoped that I'd be better. My issue is the surgery was done in France, the NHS in England will not entertain removal as they didn't put it and and said they would only consider it for things like infection. I'm tempted to go private if it will make me feel better. Any advice would be amazing as I'm really feeling down with it 

Sara, I had my screws and one rod removed privately by different hospital, than the one who put them in. They only needed the surgery reports to confirm the hardware #. Find a ortho who is willing to do that. Maybe start with the screws and see how it makes you feel. My mobility got much better already after took the screws out. Hardware was put in 2013, screws out 2014, rod out 2018... Feel free to pm me if you’d like to talk about it... Like Ashley said, we’re all different. If you feel you rather get it all done once, I say go for it. Find a surgeon who you connect with and who would do it. Sakari Orava in Finland would do it. You can contact him and see if he does surgeries in UK this year. He operates on some soccer players there still, I think. 

PS. For me the screws were sticking out heavily after swelling went down and they blocked the mobility on my knee, so that was no-brainer to pull them out. Rod removal didn’t make my injured leg pain free, but scaled down the chronic pain from 8-9 scale to 6-7 during winters and summers are bit easier in general...

To reiterate my experience from before, I had extremely reduced pain and massively increased mobility/functionality after the removal of rod and screws. Was roughly 1.5 years after the initial surgery to have them put in. I was 18 when I broke everything, and nearly 20 when they were removed. I'm not sure if the decision to remove them was because I was young and they thought my leg still had growing to do, or if recovery would be faster because I was young. That said, the surgeons were more than happy to remove it once they knew it was causing me significant discomfort.

So, I had my rod removed a few days ago. As previously stated, I’m choosing to do it without opioids. The first night was really rough but, with the help of my hubby, was able to focus and get breathing under control and made it through the night. I’ve been taking herbs but have to supplement with Tylenol. Not gunna lie. It’s pretty rough! (I certainly wouldn’t suggest the no painkiller route for everyone. Be prepared for occasional lightening bolt feelings in your bone. That said, I’m also willing to discuss alternative treatment for anyone interested.) currently, I’ve got quite a bit of swelling in my knee but they actually told me in PT yesterday that it was way less swelling then they would expect. I can’t currently stand on it or bend it. I am going to work on bending it tomorrow which will be day 4. I’ll keep you posted on progress so you know what to expect.

For those of you that had the rod removed- I still can’t put my weight on my leg. Today’s Thursday and surgery was Monday. Does that seem normal? I know a few of you said you were fine after a couple of days. 

It’s normal. Take it as easy as your body needs, give it time to heal... Do you have one of those knee bending machines? RICE, read good book. I was able to put weight on my leg right on, but some days were crazy painful and then just used crutches and rested. That was the advice I got... that bear weight according to the pain. Even after a month there were painful days when took it super easy...

Ashley--hoping that you're continuing to notice improvement each day.  Thank you for sharing your experiences here.  You've mentioned using Traditional Chinese Medicine and how much breathing has helped--you sound like a Qigong practitioner.  I have been practicing Qigong for 7 years now, and it has really changed my life.
Anna--thanks to you as well for sharing your experiences.  You have both been through a lot!
I have had the rod in my tibia since January 1998 so I'm quite hesitant to have it removed but I am considering it, as it appears that I will not be able to have a total knee replacement otherwise.  I'm going for a second opinion with another orthopedic surgeon to see if he sees an alternative, as my local orthopedic surgeon is quite conservative.

So this is how they remove those rods. Yikes.

Yeah... I made the mistake of watching the video right before surgery. Just don’t. Lol

Yeah, these kind of surgeries are not pretty. At the original surgery where they put in the rod I went with blocks and a sedative as opposed to a general anesthesia. What was supposed to be a 1.5-2 hr. surgery turned into a 7+ hour affair (that probably went a long way towards the staph infection I got in the bone afterward) and I woke up in the middle. There was a plastic sheet up at my waist and on the other side it sounded like they were beating the dents out of an old Chevy, occasionally a bloody glove would appear and disappear above the sheet. 'This is interesting,' I thought to myself and tried to see if I could move the left leg (the right one was the broken one) and it seemed like a could so I called out, 'Guys, I'm awake'. which, I dunno, may have been for them like the corpse you're embalming suddenly wishing you good morning. Anyway, one rushed around and slapped a mask on my face.

Once the infection set in they had to take that rod out to replace with another coated in antibiotic impregnated cement, but evidently the method in the video didn't work--I think they stripped out threads in the rod--and they had to send for a specialized piece of equipment (I dunno, maybe a bigger hammer) to remove it in yet another surgery. So that leg was quite abused, but as I said earlier, I had had enough of rods and a couple of years later I had that one removed, too, even though there was no discomfort from it. And I guess I was lucky, because I never had any issues with rehab from that--hiking within a week and never any discomfort. But I guess YMDV