New X-Rays Today

Well, I got new x-rays today, and as I already knew from the way it feels, my clavicle is not healing well. It has been 3 1/2 months since my bicycle wreck, and there is very little new bone growth at the break site. I did re-break it twice after the original accident, but hey, who's counting???

Here is a photo I took of the lcd screen (x-rays are digital these days) in the doctor's office:


The clavicle should be a solid, one piece, horizontal bone going from the sternum to the shoulder. As you can see, mine is a total train wreck. The break did not line up end-to-end to heal. The right piece of the clavicle went under the left piece, and that is how it fused together. This x-ray was taken today, and as you can see, there is very little bone growth. The doctor expects to see a lump of new bone growth around the entire break site. Mine has almost none... The amount of overlap between the pieces is significant, also. The dimension from my neck to shoulder is now two inches shorter on my injured side than it is on my normal side.

Another interesting thing to note is the top rib that is angled down and overlapping the second rib from the top. I ripped that rib away from the sternum in 1988. I never went to the doctor, so I never really got to take a look at it. I knew the rib was moved to the wrong place because of the immense pain, and the weird lump on my chest. It healed over time, but in the wrong place. It is interesting to see an x-ray of it now, 21 years later.

So, what's next? Well, I go back for x-rays, or possibly a cat scan, in six weeks. I suppose we'll make a decision then on whether or not surgery will be required to re-break it and install a metal plate. Sweet...

Gotta run,
JD