I've also heard doctors say that leaving hardware in is fine if you're not experiencing problems. But, I've had ortho hardware in my hip and clavicle, and both times it caused discomfort. I was 100% immediately after removing the hardware. So, I'm inclined to recommend removing it.

So um yeah, hi there!

Found this thread while looking for information about removal of pins and plate from collarbones as I have an appointment with the doctors at the hospital tomorrow to discuss this potentially. Heres what happened for me to end up in this predicament.

Was only 15 when I was hit by a Ford Fiesta going 60mph around a blind bend, while doing an orienteering competition with a youth group I was with at the time. Only broke my collarbone, clean break but left a lovely 'bump' on my collarbone. Fast forward two years later, was told that my collarbone hadnt fixed and that I would need a set of mechano in there (my families nickname for the pins and plates) as well as a bone graft from my own collarbone from the bone trying to bridge awkwardly. Had the op.... two years later get hit by a van going 30mph. Thanks to the 'mechano' in my shoulder, I only sustained a greenstick fracture on the end of my collarbone.

SO onto the mechano.... I have seven pins and one plate. Back in my slimmer days you could see 5 out of 7 pins through the skin and it was.... creepy. Nowadays you cant see them as much but you can feel them and they are giving me one hell of a lot of jip. Cold weather has been fortunate in allowing me to win bets on when it will snow (one advantage), though painful as hell. Can't keep anything on my shoulder like a bag as it rubs funny and aches like hell. It also affects the martial arts I am training in, since I cant do much with my right side thanks to the mechano, and i cant do much weightlifting in the gym for the same reason. And it's been in my body for 9 years this year. Has anyone had the op to remove the same amount of pins and plates after that much of a delay of time?

I don't know anyone who has had ortho hardware removed after such a long time. I was under the impression that bone calcifies around the hardware and removal becomes problematic. You need to see an orthopedist, especially if you continue to have pain.

Quick Update:

I am allowed the operation to get the mechano set removed from my shoulder. Even had a phone call to get the surgery done this week. Had to decline and postpone it due to the fact that this idiot here broke her ankle.

So if anyone else is worried about it not being allowed to get it taken out, just give it a shot at the doctors and get a medical opinion.

So did you get the plate removed? How did everything go? Always interested to hear others experience as I am due to have mine taken out in the Fall.

Thanks.

I've yet to get it removed still (ankle still hasnt healed fully yet), but as soon as I find out, I will let you lot know!

Hey dear, pls confirm if you have got removed your plates from colorbone... as i have just get them installed in july month of 2014.

pls guide me if any info is there and also if any precaution should be take place.. on my mail id. naresh.kharol@gmail.com.
my contact no 09982206667.

pls help in this case is am i bit tension that the plats got installed.

Hey all, just a quick update. Getting my pins and plate remove in hopefully 6-8 hours! Sorry for the delay, been busy recovering from a broken ankle and actually getting my next grading in Martial arts (which I passed, woot!). Will be quick to update you after the operation as I have no idea how long I will have to wait in the day surgery. Any complications due to a 9 year join with my machano set, again I shall let you know (let's hope there isn't anyway!)

Catch ya in a few hours guys and girls!

Zhoumei

Hey all (again).

I'm back home from the operation, bit high and sleepy still on the morphine (which turns out I am no longer allergic), so bear with me on this.

There were no complications in the removal of 7 pins and a plate after 9 years. There was some bone removed with the mechano set since it had grown around it. I'm currently in a sling for when it hurts real bad, but have been told to move it in small motions until I see the physiotherapist in 2 weeks. Only downside at the moment is that it itches like hell and that I think (wasn't exactly confirmed) they re-opened my original scar.

Hope this helps anyone considering removal of pins!

Zhoumei

This is the best thread i have found so far....Figured I could add my EXP to it.

Broke my clavicle and had fixation surgery one year ago to the day. (5 inch plate w/ 6 down screws holding it in place and one up screw holding additional bone fragments in place) I will be getting up for surgery in just over 6 hours, so I am going to keep this first post short. Surgery is scheduled at 7 am. I will try to post as soon as I can type somewhat coherently.

One year post-op and my shoulder has a good deal of un-healed nerve damage, a spider web sensation and a small area of numbness, which is way better than right after the surgery and complete numbness.

Currently I can't wear any strap over my left shoulder, even a seat belt is a huge annoyance, but i have a full range of motion. My biggest concern is muscle atrophy, as it took a whole year to get back to where i was.

Sorry to take over this triathlon forum with BB stats but i think its a good indication of shoulder health. Dumbbell press 95 lbs 3x5 Weighted pull-ups 95 lbs 3x3

10:30am, back home already. Damn, that was easy! Not sure if the local is still working or not. I didn't take any of my Hydrocodone, it hurts a lot but totally bearable, nothing like last year where I was tearing from pain.

The worst part is my neck so far. I want to try my best not to eat any drugs, but I might crack later today. Doc didn't say i needed a sling or anything but I sometimes find myself resorting to the sling position, holding on to my clothing for support.

So it is 3:20, I'm pretty sure all the local anesthetic is long gone...Still didn't eat any pain meds...it really sucks but its totally manageable without. Feels like i got karate chopped in the neck. I plan to take one hyrdocodone 10 later tonight, to help with sleeping. The pain is enough that I think it will hinder sleeping.
Haven't been pushing hard at all today but I find myself doing, trying to do a lot of my activities with my treated left side (dominant hand)

Crazy, a year ago i was literally chewing a Percocet 5 every hour or two with little to no relief.

Day 2, no more neck pain, no pain at all really. A bit sore if I shrug my shoulder upwards. Went for a 3 mile walk today. Actually my biggest problem is a sore throat from them putting a breathing tube down there, still hurts a bit to swallow. That hasn't stopped me from stuffing my face!

Yesterday I ended up taking half a 10mg hydrocodone which put me right to sleep. This morning I woke up and had a big bowl of chicken bone broth and a full 10mg hydrocodone (def didn't need it but sleeping another 6 hours was amazing) Im basically done with drugs, thanks for giving me 65 pills though, 10X what anybody would ever need, just in case I want to pull a Michael Jackson.

Its going to be really hard not to push my self this month....I feel great and not being able to run, workout or swim is going to mess with my head.

Day 3, still feeling good. A bit tired today....Just going to couch it up and catch up on some crappy TV. Tomorrow I need to change the dressing, curious to see how everything looks. It seems like a much smaller incision this time around.

Hey HuRang, any update on how you are doing now? I am mostly curious because I have a plate still and I am doing similar workouts to you (75 lb db presses, 225 lb bench press, repping out pull ups). Are you back at these again? I am holding off surgery because I don't want to be out of the gym for so long.

Also, when you say the incision seemed smaller, did they leave some of the old scar there or cut it all out and then make the scar smaller?

Thanks!

Mean to get back on here....we are at week seven now. I am doing everything thing perfectly fine. I started back lifting and swimming on week three. Still, have a decent amount of numberness but its not a huge deal.

Im sleeping on my left side, which is something I haven't done in over a year. Strenghtwise Im not back to where I was pre - removal but I'm getting there.

Week 7, I was doing 185 Lbs incline barbell for reps on Monday. and 45Lbs weighted pulls last week

I dont think I really lost any strenght I just don't want to push too hard...I guess by January I will pretend it never even happened.

Best advice is get a cute girl to ctake care of you while your mending! By day 4, I was really completely fine but she was bending over backwards for me.

If you are lifting with it in, I dont think you have to worry too much about bone strenght, just ease back into everything. I also didnt drink at all for the first three weeks and was eatting a supper clean 4000+ calorie a day diet. Put on about a ten pound 'winter coat' :-)

The surgen cut along the exact same scar but the incision was about half the size....I think he just streched the skin to remove the high and low screws or something. it was basically healed over by week 2. When I saw the doc on week 3 he said no need for PT. Haven't seen him since.

Find a time when you can take 4 days to do nothing but catch up on netflix. And also a time where you can take 3 weeks off from the gym.(i was actually doing light leg presses on day 7) Maybe overtrain right before?!?

Walking, jogging, and hills were a pretty good susitute also.

Ill be snowboarding in a few weeks for sure!!!

Hey, thanks for the info, HuRang. So I know it is still fairly early, but would you say you are currently happy with the decision to remove the plate? Has there been any immediate or short term benefit so far? I mostly want mine removed because the area is very sensitive and the hardware is visible through my skin. Things like backpacks and other straps are pretty uncomfortable.

People whom have plates in, if it doesn't bother you don't get it out...One the other hand, mine sucked!!!I didn't even want to drive due to seat-belt 'friction'. If you are reality healthy, it sounds like no prob for you, recovery isn't too bad this time around. With that said, all the nerve damage which after a year of healing was improving is now back to square one...cobwebs and numbness. But, now i wear a back pack on either side, sleep on either side and generally am not as concerned as before.

Hope that helps a little....

One last comment Brad,
Its basically been two months...just did 95lbs incline dumbbell presses 4x4 which means I'm past where I was with the plate in.

This is some great news. Sounds like you bounced back quickly. From what I am told, it is just a matter of getting the screw holes in the bone to heal and fill in (4-6 weeks).

I am probably having mine taken out in February, which means I hope to be recovered before summer starts.

Any more updates are appreciated.

From everything I've read....

A year after surgery your bone should have completely calcified, if you are lifting that much now, it means its already relatively strong. But since the plate is still in some of the weight, from lifting, is transferred to the plate and the surrounding bone and screws.

Long term this isn't the ideal situation for bone health. In fact this reduced load leads to reduced bone density....Post surgery, holes in your bone prob aren't great either, they do mean that your surgery-side is more susceptible to a break, esp along the bone holes. Still this bone isn't that fragile either. Just easy back into things, listen to your body, eat well....Don't Fall on it!!! (Sometime after a few weeks you WILL be tempted to do some kind of craziness, for me it was a bike ride, week 3 I felt great already but in the end didn't go) You'll be fine well before summer.

Good luck man, let us know how it turns out! And make sure to ask for the plate and screws back, its the least you can get for a year of your life, right?

Hey all, reviving this thread as I had the plate removed from my clavicle yesterday. I still have some hardware in my shoulder as the break was pretty heinous and required some significant fixing, but I'm super happy to have the plate and screws out. It was causing a ton of pain.

My surgeon wasn't super clear on resuming physical activity (beyond walking). I know I can't lift more than 10 lbs until my post-op check-up, but as far as riding and running go - what would you all recommend? Should I wait at least a week with the incision and what not?

Thanks!

Hey,

I would be really careful about riding! If you fall and re-fracture that could endup being a huge deal. I would go for a jog and see how you feel after. Its amazing how much easier recovery was with removal as oppossed to fixation. Anyways, even though you feel fine it doesnt mean your bone isnt full of holes....Keep us updated!