My son shattered his upper tibia in a dirt bike accident 2 days ago. He had emergency surgery to insert two external rods between his femur and lower tibia to stabilize the leg and was released to go home today. His ER surgeon said he should have plates and screws installed after the swelling subsides, in two to three weeks. My question is: how long can one wait for this type of repair? It seems like the bone pieces would start to regrow together in a random manner.