will i be ok

Specialties Operating Room

Published

hi all,

i am an OR nursein the UK, scrub and circulate and i have broken my ankle..i have a fractured fibula and a bimalleollar fracture i had an ORIF and ended up with a 10 hole plate and 12 screws in all...

my worry is that as an ortho nurse will i be able to tolorate lead?

my surgeon has said i will be off work for at least 12 weeks (i am 5 wks in and going mad!)

but in such a busy environment will this cause a problem to my long term future in a field i love

dont know if any ofyou have done this or know some one who has but any advice would be great

thanks

a VERY bored non weight bearing nurse

debbie

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By telling you 12 weeks, your surgeon may be playing it safe. Bone healing is normally (roughly) 6-8 weeks. That's for a "regular" fracture. Many other factors enter play though.. your age, weight, bone density, etc.

All in all, I'd recommend being patient. A little rushing now might cost you setbacks later on. Take all the physical therapy you can get, btw. It really makes rehabilitation easier.

By "tolerate lead" do you mean will you be able to carry the weight of lead x-ray aprons? Eventually, you should be essentially normal-- if you could tolerate lead before you should be able to again.

Down the road, a bimalleolar Fx may produce arthritic changes in the ankle, but you can worry about that later ;-)

Good luck and hope you feel better soon.

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thanks for that...just been and had my pot off...chuff it feels strange start physio end this week and i have to wearan air splint for the next 6 weeks..

debbie

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Specializes in Surgery, Ob/Gyn.
thanks for that...just been and had my pot off...chuff it feels strange start physio end this week and i have to wearan air splint for the next 6 weeks..

debbie

can you decode those two words for me? Im guessing pot is a cast maybe? but I have no idea what chuff means

I'm simply curious

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Specializes in NICU.

I think it's a general exclamation, as in "MAN, it feels strange..." The Google results I got for it were a little more... adult, though.

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sorry about that....bit of local slang :D

debbie

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I think it is something you will have to wait and see. I have had spinal fusions and lead usually doesn’t bother me. Having said that; sometimes when I have irritated my back…it’s a killer to wear lead all day. For the most part, I think it should be OK. I would think your ankle and the extra stress would be similar. I also have to be careful about the shoes I buy because of the long cases like spines.

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Specializes in ICU, SDU, OR, RR, Ortho, Hospice RN.
hi all,

i am an OR nursein the UK, scrub and circulate and i have broken my ankle..i have a fractured fibula and a bimalleollar fracture i had an ORIF and ended up with a 10 hole plate and 12 screws in all...

my worry is that as an ortho nurse will i be able to tolorate lead?

my surgeon has said i will be off work for at least 12 weeks (i am 5 wks in and going mad!)

but in such a busy environment will this cause a problem to my long term future in a field i love

dont know if any ofyou have done this or know some one who has but any advice would be great

thanks

a VERY bored non weight bearing nurse

debbie

Bless your heart this sounds awfully painful for you.

Just wanted to wish you well in your recovery and pray you are back doing what you love soon enough.

Thanks for sharing although I am sad it was not better news for you.

Hang in there ok? :nurse:

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