Femur rod removal advise needed

Hello yes you will need a scooter..wheel chair or crutches. And u will have downtime are least 6 weeks. Hope u have a speedy recovery.

HI, I'm a 71 year old female and in April 2014 I slipped in the garden and broke my femur mid-shaft.   The next day I had a rod and screws inserted, spent a week in hospital then the next seven or so months full weight bearing and was told that the bone had healed.  I still limped a bit and had pain or more like aching in it for some time after but that eventually disappeared.  What was troubling me was the crunching and grinding I was getting where the top screws were sticking out a bit and then the bottom screws were causing my tendon to flick over the end of the screws, causing a noticeable moveable lump which was also painful.  Seventeen months after the break I had an operation to have the rod and all the screws removed.  HOWEVER, when they came to take the rod out the bone had grown over the end of the rod so they said it would be a much more complicated operation to try and take the rod out so they only took the screws out.  It was instant relief as far as the crunching etc. went and apart from a little bit of discomfort and soreness for a couple of weeks there was no problem and my walking was much more comfortable straight away. They went in through the original scars and just placed a small dressing over the wounds. I didn't need a wheelchair or any other appliance to get around .   IF you have the rod removed you will need longer to recover but I'm sorry, I don't know how long or how bad that would be but it will obviously be worse if the rod is removed rather than just the screws so just be prepared that they may not be able, or want, to take the rod out.

Don't forget, I didn't have the nail/rod removed, just the screws.    If you Google femoral nail screw removal you'll see that it's a very common thing and some people have had great success after screw removal.  There's a scientific paper which talks about a lot of pain felt by people due to muscle damage etc. so perhaps that's what you're experiencing.   There is a risk that the femur will break again when the nail is being taken out which puts you back to square one.   By the way, before the operation I was given the choice of having the nail and the screws removed under local anaesthetic - I agreed but then they changed their minds and I had the general instead, thank goodness.  One thing I noticed and I think may be quite a common thing , I believe my broken leg (left)  is slightly longer than the good one as I suddenly developed  a callous on the bottom of my left foot where my weight was going more onto that side but putting a thicker insole in the right shoe has helped to even them out a bit. I spoke to someone else who said their leg was a different length to the other one.  Your operation must be very near, if not done by now so I hope that it goes/went well and that your pain will have gone.

I have a 9-year-old son who had the surgery 8 months ago. He has occasional pain by the scars near his knee and we are considering whether to have the surgery to remove the pins.  I'm curious how it went for you?  

Hi Ed, I had a similar kind of surgery by fixing a rod into my thigh bone along with PCL fixation and have 5 screws totally. It's just been about 4 months and I struggled a lot with knee stiffness but got the knee bend restored till 115 degrees. I want to know if it is really necessary to get the rod and the 5 screws out after 2 or 3 yrs???? If removed, do I have to go through the knee stiffness problem and the physiotherapy for it post removal surgery as I could not bare the pain that I had while I underwent physiotherapy !! Please suggest me

Well...how'd it go man?

Hi Edd i broke my femur back in 1979, they put me in traction for about 16 weeks then got me up and started hydrotherapy and then started walking with a zimmer frame ,well out of hospital for about 6 hrs then it broke again ooch, they then put the nail in.the last few years it has caused me some pain ,so i went to the doctors he then referred me to a consultant had xrays and they said that it will have to be removed, which they did last week,i am on crutches and very frightened about putting weight on it, but all ok at the moment ,a-little discomfort, they did say that i could be of between 6-8 weeks hope this helps.

you've gone through the major problem so thank God (femur is healed and ready to use without implants). i removed the rod and screws from my femur after they were put in 2 years ago. Doctor says 6 weeks post operation is enough time to heal and get back to work. im currently 2 weeks+ post op and i feel better although I've only just removed the stitches. you will be fine. make sure you take all medicines you're given. best of luck. Dont forget take your crutches with you to the hospital.

Hi there, 6 months ago i went out for a ride with hubby i had just got my motorcycle license and bought myself a dyna, i hit an unforseen pot hole and crashed broke both my legs severely, my left being the worst with a high femur fracture that affected my hip , 3 ligaments replaced with cadaver ligaments my miniscus my tibia, i had jaw fractures shoulder, and many other injuries but my biggest problem now has been the hip pain i have with the rod they placed in my femur, it seems to protude through my butt cheek and i feel a popping sensation when i bend to grab something they state they left the rod sticking out of the bone on the top about 2 inches do to them not being able to push it farther down the bone do to me having fixaters in the way, so this rod is causing pain, discomfort and i cannot lay on my left side nor can i sit too long without pain, i want this thing out but im also just so scared ive had a total of 12 surgeries and im so done with so much, but i also cant live with this, before thos accident i was at the gym 4-5 days a week 2 hours a day i want to go back to that i miss it,