Broken Pin

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Hi all! This is going to be an unconventional post, but here goes! My daughter is 2 years old and is currently undergoing an ulna lengthening on her left arm. At our first post-op appointment the X-ray showed the fixator already had a broken pin. The doctor “had never seen this before”.    but he told us to go ahead and start turning and see if she could make do with just 3 pins. Just wondering if anyone else has had/heard of a broken pin. (It snapped off in the bone). She’s very sore and uncomfortable and has a bit of bleeding but I have no idea if that’s because of the break or just the whole lengthening process. Any insights you all could give me would be much appreciated. Thank you!

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Quote from: Aguarigl on August 10, 2021, 12:48:09 AMHi all! This is going to be an unconventional post, but here goes! My daughter is 2 years old and is currently undergoing an ulna lengthening on her left arm. At our first post-op appointment the X-ray showed the fixator already had a broken pin. The doctor “had never seen this before”.    but he told us to go ahead and start turning and see if she could make do with just 3 pins. Just wondering if anyone else has had/heard of a broken pin. (It snapped off in the bone). She’s very sore and uncomfortable and has a bit of bleeding but I have no idea if that’s because of the break or just the whole lengthening process. Any insights you all could give me would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Maybe you could contact Dr. Rozbruch, Dr. Austin Fragomen or Dr Michael J. Assayag,  you can find their contact info on the Internet.   

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This seems highly specialized and while this forum is highly specialized I don’t think it’s likely you’ll get a satisfactory answer here, 99.9% of people here are discussing cosmetic leg lengthening.  That said I would ask:

1. How invasive would it be to “fix” the pin or install a new one?

2. Is there a risk of the ulna being misaligned without the fourth pin?

3. What’s the integrity of the other three pins going to be if one is already broken?

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Not sure who the doctor is, but pins typically don't break that easily. I don't know about arms but with legs, if one of the pins were to break, you can still turn and finish lengthening. Normally, external fixators on Tibias have at least a dozen pins (or more), so if one pin breaks the rest can still support the weight and the keep the bone is place until the lengthening is finished. It's not unsual for doctors to remove a pin or two if there is an infection at the pin sites.

If the broken pin is inside, and the pin site is still open, it most likely needs to come out to avoid potential infections.