Dr. Giotikas - external tibia/Stryde - Diary 2018/2019

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@cheekycabs that sounds great! You're very lucky that you can leave both of your frames behind.

For me it doesn't look very good again. On the left side of the pictures you see the X-ray of today and on the right side you see the X-ray of two months ago.

Right Front:  https://i.imgur.com/ne7z2mj.png

Left Front: https://i.imgur.com/CzDEcNg.png

Left Side: https://i.imgur.com/HQ0dDMF.png

Right Side: https://i.imgur.com/U30Tnnq.png

Do you see any difference? I wonder why the bone on the "left side"-picture isn't growing inside the gap but rather outside...

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hi great what did giotikas said to you about the xrays? and what he advise you to do?

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I just had a talk with Dr. Giotikas.

He gave me several options.

1. To do nothing (not really serious)
2. To shorten 2-4mm (To stimuli bone growth)
3. I don't remember the whole name. But it was about injecting my plasma into the callous to stimuli bone growth. (1000€)
4. To do LATN (6.000€) -> removing the frames and replacing them with the nails (which can also enhance bone growth)

I had also asked him if he can remove one pin of my right knee because that pin had caused pain over the last months. That pain made it impossible for me to put my whole weight on my right leg. Without that pin I could walk more and better which would improve my bone growth. He said he can do it.

But ultimately I have now decided to do LATN instead of all the other options. I don't want to shorten. And I don't want to spend money on trying other options if it could be for nothing. And in the end I might have to do LATN either way.

I told him that I'm afraid of permanent knee pain that could occur, he answered that there is a 15% chance of knee pain but that it isn't permanent. I think 10 months is enough and my bone growth is so slow that it would take too many more for me.

Also the day before yesterday I was sitting on my bed and sometime my left leg felt weird. It felt like my foot got a bad cramp. That day I couldn't walk at all. Every touch with my left foot with the floor was hurting like nothing before from my foot up to my hip. So I had to use my right leg which is already the weaker one in order to stand up and to sit on an office chair so that my mother could roll me to the bathroom. In the evening it got a bit better. I was able to slowly increase the weight on my left leg and use it again. But until today the feeling of a cramp in my foot is still there. Dr. Giotikas said that that's my body responding to the frames after such a long time.

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i would go with the plasma , which is actually stem cells

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I was in a similar situation. I went with the nails, that was a great decision!

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Hope this serve as example to other LL'rs to avoid external only. You should have nailed your tibias long time ago.

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Quote from: jfk on August 24, 2019, 09:38:09 PMI was in a similar situation. I went with the nails, that was a great decision!

How long did you have the frames on?

Quote from: KrP1 on August 24, 2019, 09:50:10 PMHope this serve as example to other LL'rs to avoid external only. You should have nailed your tibias long time ago.

I hope others can learn from my experience as well. But if someone really wants to do fully externals they can try it and switch to LATN as soon as they notice that their bone growth is too slow. I recommend Stryde in any case though. If it has to be tibias which might be too narrow for a Stryde nail, LON or LATN then.

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Quote from: Great321 on August 24, 2019, 09:58:10 PMHow long did you have the frames on?



I hope others can learn from my experience as well. But if someone really wants to do fully externals they can try it and switch to LATN as soon as they notice if their bone growth is too slow. I recommend Stryde in any case though. If it has to be tibias that are too narrow for a Stryde nail, LON or LATN then.

For me it was about 8 months with the frames on until I decided to go with the nails. It was the greatest relief to not have the frames around anymore.

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Quote from: jfk on August 24, 2019, 10:14:13 PMFor me it was about 8 months with the frames on until I decided to go with the nails. It was the greatest relief to not have the frames around anymore.

I can imagine!!

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Quote from: KrP1 on August 24, 2019, 09:50:10 PMHope this serve as example to other LL'rs to avoid external only. You should have nailed your tibias long time ago.

Why? Do bones consolidate better with internals, and for what reasons?