I had a nasty break last year. Went to a large hospital in Boston for plate placement. New technique where the plate is placed on top of clavicle not on the front. I feel fantastic. Full range of motion, no pain whatsoever. No plans on removing. If I start to pull screws then I'll do it but all is well right now.
The surgeon told me he has never had anyone come back to have one removed as of yet. I would imagine that my clavicle is stronger with the plate on anyway

That's great to hear the plate doesn't bother you. I think a lot of it comes down to your frame. Some people have curvy collar bones other people have straight ones. My plate is placed on the top as well. The far end is wrapped up in muscle nicely and doesn't cause much pain or irritation, but the end closest to my chest has very little skin covering it so it protrudes a lot and gets easily irritated even by clothing. Unfortunately it's not exactly a spot I can just gain weight in to mask the problem. My surgeon did warn me before doing surgery that I would likely want the plate taken out because I'm thin and I think he was on the money. Now I just need to try to ignore it for the summer.

Had mine removed after 9 weeks due to an infection of the bone from the hardware. The bone was healed enough that they decided to leave it out. Can't tell you how glad I am that it's out. I have a lean frame and it was very obvious under my skin, so I'm sure I'd be having issues with it still if left in.

How did they know there was an infection of the bone? I can't imagine that showing up on an x ray. I've had my plate for much more than 9 weeks but I'm scared of the bone just crumbling if the hardware is taken out. Did the bone stay perfectly aligned after removal? I wonder how it could even heal with an infection present.

Long story short, the incision was not healing like it normally should and it kept draining this yellowish fluid until it finally opened up, exposing the bone and metal. At that point they have to assume infection b/c of the bacteria that lives on our skin invading the wound. Since the plate is attached to bone, and the plate was exposed to the world, they assume the bone is infected. No x-ray can detect infection, only a culture or obvious signs can. They never actually cultured anything, but the signs/symptoms all pointed to infection. The ortho specialist I was sent to for removing the plate had an opinion that it was most likely the tightrope wire used to pull my clavicle back down to it's natural position that had bacteria on it, causing the infection. It has a fiber-like surface which is perfect for one single bacteria to start growing in.

The bone did very well after removal of the plate. Possibly b/c I eat pretty well and boosted my calcium & vitamin intake a lot after surgery (I ended up having 5 surgeries). There were holes in the bone left from the removal of the screws and the Dr. would not let me ride until he gave clearance, I'm assuming until they filled in. It took about 8 weeks for this. My original ortho Dr said that the infection possibly slowed the healing process, but as of yesterday it looks great, bone and skin - considering at one point I could look at my shoulder and see metal and bone, like the Terminator...

That's great to hear that you are doing well now. Having the hardware removed that early was actually quite risky. It's a good thing your bones heal quick.

I also had some complications with my surgery back in February. There was a red bump at one end of the incision and the doctor thought it was infection so he opened me back up 2 weeks later and cleaned everything out. When I woke up he said the bone and metal looks good and it can stay in place to help the bone heal in proper alignment. I assume it was a superficial skin infection or complications with the sutures perhaps. At any rate, I am almost 4 months post op from the original plating surgery and everything is healed up albeit with a gnarly scar. The second surgery was in emergency on a Saturday night and when I took the bandage off I would tell the surgeon rushed the closure. I had regular stitches as opposed to the subcuticular ones with steri strips that were used in the initial operation. I briefly recall him saying that he wasn't going to worry about scar revision during the second operation since he was confident a third one would be required to remove the hardware. It looks like he was on the money because here I am wanting to have it taken out as soon as possible.

Sounds very similar to mine situation of being opened back up 2 weeks after initial surgery. I swear I have memory loss after anesthesia in 5 surgeries in 2 months...

Wow, I can't imagine. The 2 I had in a 2 week span really made me cloudy for a while. Combined with the antibiotics and a painful, rebuilt shoulder I was just peachy for a couple of months.

How did your incision end up at the end of it all then? Were they able to clean up the dead tissue and close it up well or were you left with a wide scar to heal?

I had the plate installed last year, iirc, on July 3. It is coming out in 2 weeks. I guess I'll find out rather soon how things go!
And as to the hypersensitivity, I had that, too, between the border of the area the regions that were numb and that still had sensation. It went away after about 1.5-2 months, but clothing, seat belts, etc, anything that touched that area, made it feel like I had been burned. I tried lidocaine cream, but that did not help. I was actually told to touch those areas in order to desensitize, because if I kept avoiding any contact, I could potentially make the hypersensitivity worse. As aggravating as it was at first, that seemed to help in the long term.
I'll let you know in a few weeks how things are going without the plate!

Incision looks pretty good, probably b/c I had one of the best plastic surgeons in the area close it up. He used some special tools to loosen up the skin so he could pull the edges together without it being too tight. It feels a little taut in that area, but he said it would stretch with time. Also, there's a lot of adhesion that my ortho Dr. has me massage to loosen. I make sure to keep zinc oxide on the scar during rides/runs/swims outdoors now, per the plastic surgeon. I also have some subcutaneous stitches I can still feel. Some have actually broke the skin and I had to "snip" them. I'd post pics if it were easy to do on this forum.

Amazing what a good surgeon can do nowadays. I am thinking about paying for a plastic surgeon to close the incision when I get the hardware removed later this year. I'm afraid of offending the ortho surgeon though, haha. How did you go about requesting that?

Good to know it sounds normal. Definitely keep us up to date on the removal for you!

Actually it was my ortho that said if he couldn't close it up after debriding tissue, he would call in a good plastics guy he uses. My ortho is the director of trauma surgery at Harris Methodist Fort Worth, so he deals with a lot nastier, complicated trauma cases than mine. I'd just ask ahead of time how well the close up job will look. I didn't mind the scar, ladies like them ;-)

Haha, you're right. My girlfriend rubs her finger along mine all the time. It's weird because I can't feel it at all.

My desire for a scar revision is more than vanity though. I can see and feel the amount of scar tissue that has built up and I believe it is affecting my ROM. This kind of pisses me off having heard the surgeon say he wasn't going to worry about it for now since hardware removal is in the future. Oh, so let's just leave things a mess for a year since we have to come back to it anyway right? It's not like this is a human body we are dealing with.

I had a bad break that resulted in a collarbone fixation about seven years ago. The doctor said that I'd probably want the plate removed because I have a small frame, and the plate was very apparent under the skin. Two years later, I felt the screws moving around and the doctor recommended removing the plate at that time. But a CT revealed that the bone never healed (thus the screws had nothing to grab and pushed out). He installed a larger plate with more screws and also used a "bone glue" with cadaver bone to improve the chances of a union. It did heal, but the plate was more uncomfortable than the first. Five years later, after not being able to sleep on that side, bone spurs from the longer screws, and general discomfort, I had the plate removed. I am so glad I did it, aesthetics aside (ugly scarring from three incisions). For the first time in seven years I can sleep on that side without the plate grinding into my joint, and I don't "feel" it on rainy or cold days.

Sounds like you went down quite a long road there, TSEd. Glad to hear everything worked out in the end and the bone did unite.

I am curious as to why you waited five years to remove the second plate if it was bothering you that much. I also still can't sleep on my operated side for too long without it getting sore. Sometimes I roll onto that side but I get woken up in the middle of the night because of it. My biggest problem with the hardware is the irritation that it causes though. After a good workout I will notice that my skin becomes red and inflamed at the edge of the plate because of the rubbing of the skin against metal. It is usually gone by the next morning or after I ice it down.

had a plate installed to hold my femer together while it heald. worst break you possibly have.
no reason to remove and no reason for another surgery. so there she sits after 5 years no issues and i run bike swim live just fine

All that strong muscle on your thighs must hide and pad the hardware really well. Unfortunately my clavicle only has a thin layer of skin covering it.

Hey, thought I'd post an update... I had the plate removed just over a week ago, on Wed.

As far as pain... I took oxycodone the night of the surgery and the following night. Otherwise, I just took acetaminophen and ibuprofen -- I just don't like the side effects of narcotic pain meds, and plus I had to be back at school to give a presentation, and being "fully alert" for that was a good thing. :) Also, I tried to phase out ibuprofen quickly as that has been shown to delay bone healing. I wore a cryo-pump as much as possible for the first 36 hrs, and then all night for the next 2 nights.

As far as activity... No lifting or weight bearing on that arm for another 3 wks. No running restrictions. I did a short run ~20 hours after surgery, with a sling. Another short run the following morning, again with sling. And then a 3.5 hr trail run the day after that, still with sling. I had some raw spots from the sling after that run, so I ditched the sling during the next day's 2 hr run. I was pretty surprised how little running bothered my clavicle -- the surgeon gave me the ok to run right away, but he thought I wouldn't want to run for the first few days. ;) I will say that when I biked on the trainer 5 days post-op, I managed to weight my arm way too much (while wearing the sling!), and it hurt! I've cut out any pain management at this point, and while I get some bone pain, I think it's good for me to remember to not overuse that arm!

My first recheck is next week. I assume all will look ok. I'm happy thus far with the procedure.

Thanks for the update, knova. It's great to hear the operation went well and you got back to running so quickly. I'm surprised to hear it only took you 20 hours post op to start running. I have been under the impression that sweating with such a fresh incision could be bad but maybe that's not true since your doctor said it was fine for you to be that active.

So what are the main differences you notice this early? I know you say there is a bit of soreness from the removal which is normal. Do you feel any type of relief or weight lifted off? How about the nerves (numbness,sensitivity,tingling etc.)? Has that gone back to square one or kind of stayed the same?

Broke my collarbone 3 places close to each other. had a plate inserted and kept it for about 1.5-2.0 years until i decided to have it removed. Mine was places on the middle part and didnt have any ligaments torn, luckily, on either the should girdle or near the breast-bone.
In light of the risc of crashing on my roadbike, tri og mountainbike in the future, and having the risc of tearing appart my ligaments, as the strongest part of the collarbone is now the reinforced part, i decided to have it removed.

I havent had any trouble and have full range of motion. Have gotten som very tight fascia's around my left side-neck and pectoralis, which is being adressed..
Other than that, is that i lost my sense of touch on the superficial skin from the collarbone and down on the upper part of pectoralis and the anterior deltpoideus.. but no mucsle inhibition or anything like that.. only skin


Im glad i had it removed

Sweating was also my main concern. Even my equine surgeon colleagues were concerned about sweating and potential infection & scarring when I admitted my plan to run immediately after surgery... Although, they did say I'm probably much more clean than their 4-legged patients and might be ok. ;) So, I specifically asked my surgeon about risks of the incision being wet and if we could use a breathable dressing, like covaderm, instead of tegaderm. But, he said it would be fine if the incision and dressing was sweaty. I'm not sure, however, if he realized how much I intended to run. The tegaderm+gauze dressing was to come off 3 days post-op, and when I took it off after my long run on Sat, I could wring the sweat out of the gauze. A slight "ewww" factor. My incision site doesn't look as smooth this time -- whether that is related to the sweating or not, I do not know.

So far, I still have soreness from the incision and some bone pain -- similar to the ache that I had about 6-8 wks post-op from the first surgery. The surgeon said that they would smooth the bone, as there would be some bone spurs around the screw holes. That, combined with the now empty screw holes that need to fill in, I'm not surprised that I have some bone pain. The numbness is pretty much the same, but I did not get the hyper-sensitivity that I had for one month after the first surgery. I don't think the numbness will ever change because those nerves were severed in the first surgery.

The difference, so far, is that I don't notice the pressure sensitivity that I had with the plate. That being said, the incision site is sore, and this makes distinguishing the previous plate pain vs incision pain hard. Shrugging my shoulders or raising my arm above my head causes some pain. I still have to run with a pad (i.e., a thick mitten) under my sports bra strap like I've done since the first surgery, and I suspect I'll have to do for a few wks yet. I think all of this will improve in the next few wks as the area heals.

Are you posting the extra oxycodone in the classifieds? I broke mine several years ago on a mountain bike, plate and 12 screws. Everything held well, and I saw no reason to have the plate removed. I figure it's built in protection for my next crash, and is like the tattoo I never had.

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Damn, that's a cold ass honkey.

Best way to remove the screws from your collarbone? Crash several times on the shoulder in the Tour de France, then ride around for a few stages with the screws loose.

Sounds like you made the right decision so far and things are moving a lot quicker than the first time around. It is definitely too soon to tell what the final outcome will be. I would say give yourself a month or two before you start feeling 100% again. Make sure you go easy on it while those screw holes fill in though!