No Union

I had a motorcycle accident 18 months ago. I had a large open fracture high trauma injury. I had 10cm of broken bone removed from my tib. I underwent a long operation to graft a free flap from my lat muscle on my back, bone grafts from both hips and a skin graft. I also had a ilizarov frame fitted. A few months later I had an operation to break the top of my tib to lengthen my leg. Since then I have had another bone graft and compression procedures and there is still no real sign of any progress at the fracture site, and definitely no signs of any union. They are now considering starting all over cutting another 5-cm out to tidy the ends and going through all the lengthening again as a last attempt to save my leg. I was wondering if there is anything else that to help the bone grow, any advances in medicine, and why the bone is not growing as the free flap was a success?

[Dr Vinod]

The success rate is gauged by the acceptance of the graft at the site where it is attached. As it is a tibia fracture and you are giving it grafts from different sites it is very difficult to accept the graft as the allignment is not taking place properly. Each Orthopaedic surgery is completely different and unique and you need a good team specially successful for the operation. Try this surgery or else you have option of going to someone who would help you,any orthopaedic surgeon who is specifically experience in this, take care!

[mayuresh]

I think you must wait richie. My father faced the same procedure and it took 1 year to fill a 2 cm gap.