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Avatar universal

I broke 3 ribs about 11 weeks ago and one seems to have incorrectly ..

The top left rib seems to have healed incorrectly. There is a lump on the left side of my body where the rib had broken and it seems that the rib is right at the surface. On the opposite side of my body, if you push in where I didn't break any ribs seems to go in about an inch to two inches. Im heavier then average but it still hurts to sleep on my left side, to lift anything heavy on my left side, and to put any pressure on it. Where do we go from here ? i got a follow up tomorrow but are they going to leave it alone and be in pain for ever ? or is there a chance it will still heal ? or do they have to re break it and set it in place ? please and help would be greatly appreciated thank you - Mark
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Avatar universal
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hello!

I can understand the difficulty he is undergoing but with age the healing of bones become difficult. The bone healing (ribs) can take place in 4-6 weeks but to be completely symptom free it will take further 6-8 weeks for recovery.

Rule out any infections after the surgery and if he has post op scans and if they are examined then any physician can comment on the complication and the reason for second surgery.

Take care!
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Avatar universal
Hi my name is Ashley and two weeks ago my boyfriend claimed to have gotten into an accident and broken a rib. He's up moving around and claims that the rib healed incorrectly and supposedly he had surgery the day after the crash two weeks ago. Now he's saying the first surgeon messed up so he had another surgery last night. His reason was that the doctor said " it was rotated inward to far so it didnt heal back it just healed around it. I find it odd because it takes about a month or more for ribs to heal. I dont know the exact procedure but i m hoping you can help me out.
Thank you so much
-Ashley
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Avatar universal
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
You have to have a X-ray to know about the healing on the present day.

As you know the ribs are assisting respiration so they are in constant motion and this makes it difficult for bone healing in the ribs.

There is a chance of healing as it take more time in adults and you can wait for 12-16 weeks before any surgical intervention. Take care!
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