So this hurts like a bastard…

[unclebilly]

I guess I’ve got some feeling back in my ankle after surgery 11 months ago.

That top screw is very ouchy in my ski boots. We took out the parts on the right his past summer but the parts in the left remain.

How do you think they will get that sharp pokey bit out? Remove the screw with vice grips or grind it off?

I cringe thinking about recovery.

[Noah930]

Uh, that's not good. How does your ankle feel, with that broken hardware?

Edit: OK, so the head portions of both screws have already been removed, but the shaft/tip portions remain? How does the ankle feel? Is it stable?

[flatbutt]

If they grind it down but it doesn't work well you are kinda hosed. Maybe they can get in there and advance the screws all the way out?

[WPOZZZ]

Flush cut, then grind.

[unclebilly]

It’s stable and ok. I think if that pokey part didn’t stick out, it would be ok. Feels like a sharp pain there, especially if I point my toes under a bit of load.

[gregpark]

I'd take the grinder to my ski boot before my body

[stevej37]

I have the same feeling if I do a deep squat.
The screws are too long. Femur for me.

[red 928]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

I guess I’ve got some feeling back in my ankle after surgery 11 months ago.

That top screw is very ouchy in my ski boots. We took out the parts on the right his past summer but the parts in the left remain.

How do you think they will get that sharp pokey bit out? Remove the screw with vice grips or grind it off?

I cringe thinking about recovery.

[porsche tech]

Mig weld to the broken piece until there’s enough sticking out to get a hold of with vice grips. Done it many times!

[rfuerst911sc]

The answer is always JB Weld

[oldE]

So, do you have a screw loose?
When my wife broke both bones in her forearm, the surgeon put in a plate and some screws. After a year, one of the screws backed out so it started to 'tent' the skin. Since the bones had healed, they removed the hardware. Also they started her on a drug to help calcium uptake in menopausal women.
Hopefully they can remove the offending screw now that things have healed.

Best
Les

[Mike Andrew]

Originally Posted by gregpark

I'd take the grinder to my ski boot before my body

This for the 2024/2025 season which is ramping up. Then, were this my ankle, have the remaining chunks removed in the offseason so that the holes fill in by next season.

[unclebilly]

Originally Posted by Mike Andrew

This for the 2024/2025 season which is ramping up. Then, were this my ankle, have the remaining chunks removed in the offseason so that the holes fill in by next season.

I sorta did that. We took out the ends with the washers on them in the summer. The surgeon hoped that the remaining parts would be fine and not cause discomfort… as the nerves have regenerated, that pokey one is being a bastard, especially in a tight ski boot.

I’m seeing my knee surgeon (different guy) in a few days for a follow up on my ACL repair and will show him the pic and ask for his thoughts.

[herr_oberst]

Holy mmmmackeral. That looks surreal. As an older man working my way through the (slow) gains and plateaus of a recent wrist recovery, this reminds me that things could be worse.

Like someone said above, I think I'd grind the boot.

Good luck Unk. I hope you end up with a good result sooner rather than later.

[craigster59]

I had 2 screws in my ankle similar to yours although they didn't snap in half.

One of the screw heads you could see under my skin and both were supposed to be removed. But it hurt like a MF'er when they installed them so I was hesitant about removal. Then I went skiing over Thanksgiving one year and my ski boot rubbed on the screw head and caused a blister.

Went skiing again New Years and after half a day my ankle was throbbing. Tried loosening my boot and doing a few more runs but it became too painful so I quit and went back to the cabin.

That night I woke up in excruciating pain and fever, puss draining from my ankle. You guessed it, Staph infection.

Had to take antibiotics for a week before I was able to go in and have the screws removed. Doc said I could have losy my leg, Staph infection can enter through the hardware and get into your bone marrow. No bueno.

[Tobra]

Trephine screw out

Supposed to remove screws crossing syndesmosis

[masraum]

Remind me to avoid being screwed!

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Tobra

Trephine screw out

Supposed to remove screws crossing syndesmosis

Cool

trephine /trĭ-fīn′/
noun
A surgical instrument with a cylindrical saw usually used for removing a disk of bone, especially from the skull, or for removing corneal tissue.
An instrument for trepanning, being an improvement on the trepan. It is a circular or cylindrical saw, with a handle like that of a gimlet, and a little sharp perforator called the center pin.
A surgical instrument used to remove a circular section of bone from the skull; a trepan.

[unclebilly]

^^^ that description doesnt make it feel any better... jeebus!

I'm hoping for vice grips and twisting it out under a local anesthetic...

[ben parrish]

I did something very similar years ago. Broken ankle, two screws and begged the doc to not put a hard cast on. After 6 weeks in a boot and about 3 days before the screw removal procedure, I was hopping owns the stairs without the boot on. my heel caught on a stair tread and hyperextended my ankle down. Hurt like a mother but the pain subsided and I carried on. Went to get the screws removed and was told I’d be out for about 30 min. When I woke up two hours later, I had a very pissed doc standing over me holding a zip-loc bag with two broken screws inside. He stated pretty emphatically that he would NEVER be talked into not using a hard cast EVER again followed by “ How the hell did you manage to break two screws in your ankle.” I told him the story and he winced, smiled and again said “ I will never again be talked into not using a hard cast.”
You will be fine…they’ll get the screws out.