Is it normal they left a 6inch screw in my arm?

54% Normal
6 Comments

I was walking down a sidewalk, I fell, smashed my elbow on the corner of the concrete. I went to the E.R. But for some damn reason, all the orthopedic surgeons decided to go on vacation. Turns out I broke the extension on the ulna that cups the humerus. I had to wait 3 damn days with a broken arm before I could have surgery on it. They drilled a hole through the bone and stuck a 6inch screw in my arm. After about 6 months of hell, including but not limited to wearing a cast, arm brace, stitches, therapy, and tons of x rays, I went back for a follow up appointment. They said "oh the screw looks fine, were just gonna leave it in." then, they told there hasn't been a long term study for having a screw left in your arm. Needless to say that scared me. I'm afraid my arm is going to just fall off one day. So is it normal for them to do this to me? Anyone experienced something similar?

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54% Normal
Based on 39 votes (21 yes)
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Comments ( 6 )
  • twistedmama81
    13 years ago

    I have 28 screws in my spine. You'll live.

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  • [Old Memory]
    13 years ago

    If it has healed, your arm will not just fall off. You'll simply have a screw in it.

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  • [Old Memory]
    13 years ago

    My mother has a bunch of screws in her left ankle, she broke her leg about 15 years ago. It doesn't cause her any problems, plus I think it's cool because she's almost like a cyborg.

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  • randomjelly
    13 years ago

    It's normal. I have 6 screws in my jaw and they've been there for ages. Only one has attempted to "unscrew" a bit (screw loose :-P) but it still doesn't cause any problems. As long as it isn't causing pain or damage to your arm the doctor won't put you through surgery to remove it.

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  • Turtleshellboy
    6 years ago

    It's common to leave metal orthopedic hardware in the bones. New bone simply remodels itself around the metal rods and screws.

    Sometimes the hardware is removed, but that is best left up to the surgeon. They will normally only remove hardware if there are actual problems such as movement, breakage, nerve impingement, pain, loss of range of motion or some kind of metal allergy. Removing the hardware means going through another surgery and recovery/rehab, so so long as there are no problems, then they will not bother to put a patient through an unnecessary additional surgery. Surgerys have inherent risks such as blood loss, infection, clotting, scarring, nerve pain, strain on the overburdened healthcare system, etc, so that is why doing unnecessary surgerys are avoided.

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  • karmasAbich
    12 years ago

    Ouch this post makes me cringe

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