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Crooked leg after tibial fracture
Broke tibia Dec 2025. Had surgery with plates and screws. 3mon ag screw was backing out. Surgery Apr.13 removed 2 screws. Leg is terribly crooked . Have a 12 y/o knee replacement and concerned that the crooked leg is damaging it. Edema in that leg is serious enough that foot won’t go into a shoe. Surgeon wants to do “ revision”surgery. I just cannot do that. Suggestions?
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Arrgh.
Do feel for you.
Swelling two weeks after surgery is to be expected. I broke a finger two weeks ago, there is still swelling.
Elevation, icing, Ibuprofen may help.
If the leg can be straightened then make it so. The short-term pain is necessary to avoid not only damage to your knee but back problems as well.
Thanks but it’s not 2 weeks it’s 4 months post op. Had 2 screws removed 2 weeks ago as they were backing out to skin level. Leg acutely crooked. See surgeon 4/28 ask about brace. Anyone with similar issues?l
What are your options other than surgery to repair the leg before deformity become permanent?
@v8auto I broke mine Jan 2024, had an infection and hardware out in November 2024. Edema may never go away completely. I would add compression thigh high or tights (socks alone were not enough for me). Elevate and ice. I use latex free ace wrap from foot to thigh often at night.
I did a few lymphatic drainage massage sessions and that helped.
Mine is crooked and I am going to need a knee replacement, maybe in a year. Only way to straighten my leg.
Broke my fibula December 25. Still in the process of healing which did not start until I received a PEMF device 3 months after fracture . Doc says swelling can last a year "at my age." 🤬 If the surgeon is the same one that did the first op, I would find a new one. Also, inquire about PEMF. It really has sped up my healing.
@jenatsky it’s already healed as good as it’s going to be. Going for an evaluation for brace Mon.
@soarus57 what is PEMF?
Pulsed Electromagnetic Field. A device that emits a magnetic field that stimulates osteoblasts (bone building cells). Discovered by Nikola Tesla, refined by NASA to increase bone density in astronauts living in microgravity. I, at first, thought "snake oil" but from zero healing to 50% new bone in one month, it’s more like "Star Trek " medical technology.
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1 Reaction@soarus57 where do I go to find this? I live about 90 min from Charlottesville Va and near Winchester medical center
I have a Physio-stim device. It is FDA approved and requires a prescription. Medicare pays if you have a non healing fracture and possibly other conditions. You can buy it yourself but you would still need a prescription. Amazon also has PEMF devices available without prescription.