True Jones Fracture with failure to heal diagnosis
in may 2013 I wasz fortunate enough to give myself a true Jones Fracture of the right foot.
It started with a soft cast, went to the placement of a stablization screw threw the distal end of the bone, removal of the screw, refracture, and finially placement of a plate, 5 screws, and a bone graft in Dec 2013.
The md recommened a synthetic bone for the graft, and now a year later there is less then 40% of a fill in the fracture site and I am preparing for another surgery to remove the hardware, scrape the bone, replace a bone graft and then place new hardware.
My question to you is with the history of this fracture and the nonhealing history in the past, am I better to push for a cadaver graft or a self graft this time, I know that I am going to have to have one but which is best? I know that my body does not like to heal anymore, and sad thing is that I am only 29, so would the self graft be worth the additional pain if it may increase the healing prospects of my foot, or is the cadaver just as well without the pain of an additional harvest site?
Blood tests were all noraml so there is no explination as to why I am not healing anymore, just the major concern about the foot problems that I am continuing to have… I see the NEW ortho surgeon on friday, what am I to face this time? (this is the 3rd to care for the injury).
3 comments
Vivian Abrams DPM
There are pro’s and con’s with grafts as you know. My feeling is that a graft of your own bone with your own tissue elements is better than cadaver bone which serves as a matrix for new bone to form.
Your doctor might want to consider using a bone stimulator, although it might take fighting with the insurance company.
Good luck.
Jess
well I guess we both guessed wrong on this one, The surgeon thinks that it would be best for me to have the nonhealing portion of the bone removed and then “rewire” the tendon to the larger remaining fragment, and if it will not streatch that far then he will attatch it to the tendon that crosses the top of my foot. He thinks that with this I should be back walking in a week, and then just have to deal with a healing tendon and remove the bone pain that I have been having. I like the idea of not having the cronic pain in the foot from the two bones or the hardware, but the thought of rewiring my leg and the risk that is involved when you start messing with the calf is a little unnerving. I guess this is what is best for this injury though. thank you for the advice.
Vivian Abrams DPM
Certainly, this is another option. But as I can not see your foot, anything I think is a guess. That is why surgery is not as black and white as patients think. There are often various ways to approach a problem. As I always say, to see is to know, not to see is to guess. Once again, good luck.