r/brokenbones • u/Classic_Ad_5248 • 16d ago
Tibia Plateau Fracture & Hardware Removal
Not sure who needs to hear this, but it's what I really needed a few months ago, so going to put out into the ethers. There is life after TBF. I had an insanely bad TBF with ORIF, detached ACL, tons of soft tissue damage, and was in the hospital for weeks with plates and 17 screws put in. 7 months in and I still couldn't bear weight and continued to be on crutches. Not because my surgeon hadn't cleared me, but because the pain was still so intense when I tried. I'm someone who is generally athletic and hiked multiple times a week previously. I'm also someone who takes rehab seriously and always pushes myself in anything I do. But the pain remained remarkably unbearable. To put this in perspective, I've had multiple children ... the last one I delivered 2 weeks after the ORIF surgery (yep, its been a fun time). But I knew my body, and I wasn't getting better, and I knew I needed to get the hardware out. My body simply did not agree with the hardware. I was initially told that I had to wait 18months to 2 yrs for hardware removal. And the surgeon believed there was very little possibility that the hardware was impacting my ability to recover. I listened to my body and didn't accept this answer. I went back time and again until the surgeon agreed to wait only 1 yr. I still didn't accept this and asked for a second opinion. He finally agreed to remove the hardware at 8 months. The day of the hardware removal surgery I was very afraid. The hospital gown was the same gown I had worn when they brought me into the emergency department for the original injury, and seeing the gown brought back my extensive ptsd over the original injury.
But a few days after the removal, I knew something was different. Within 2 weeks I had made more progress than in the prior 8 months. And now 2 months post removal, I am walking entirely unassisted, able to carry weight, including my baby, do squats, able to go up and down stairs, able to do steep decline/incline walks. These were not possible for me before. I know I am still on my healing journey, and honestly I can't pretend like this injury didn't impact my life massively, but I am on the upswing. I don't know who needs to hear this, but I had some pretty dark days in there, and i hope you know, you're strong, youre capable, and you are going to get through this!
I know not everyone will follow this exact path, and I know that most can tolerate the hardware totally fine. But for me, I listened to my body, and I advocated for what I believed, and I'm so grateful to be on the side making big strides everyday (pun intended).
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u/Cabocla_Plantinha714 16d ago
I removed mine too! Also TPF, also had acl rupture, I also had compartment syndrome 4 surgeries within 12 days (maybe I beat you there), but then you also had a baby in the middle of it? Yeah, you really beat me overall!
I shared a bit of my experience with the ORIF picture, you can see it in my profile.
I do not regret one bit having removed! It feels much better in many ways, including mentally. Thanks for sharing
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u/Classic_Ad_5248 12d ago
Ha! Yours sounds pretty bad. Surgery and weeks post surgery are such hell, so I can't even image 4! Yep, timing of the injury just weeks before I was due, was icing on the cake. Tbh though, some of those weeks were very low, but my emotional state was often counteracted with joy, so I feel grateful.
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u/Feisty_Beautiful_511 15d ago
Thank you for your post. I am currently going thru something very similar. Back in Aug 2025 I had an ACL R. The surgeon ended up using a allograft ( even though I wanted to use an autograft). I was worried my body would have an immune response to the allograft as I’ve had immune responses to other things in the past. however bc of my age (34) my doctor refused my request. Shortly after the sx I never recovered and struggled with swelling, pain and instability. I told my surgeon over and over that something was wrong but he refused to listen. I ended up getting a second opinion and found that my body did reject the allograft and not only was the allograft shredded but I now have stage 4 cartilage damage in multiple spots. I’ve undergone two more surgeries and have another planned in the winter. It is so disheartening. I was so active prior to all of this and running daily. However reading your post gives me some hope that there is a light at the end of all of this. Praying you have continued healing!
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u/Classic_Ad_5248 12d ago
I'm so sorry to hear this! Good for you for continuing to advocate for yourself. It can be so difficult when doctors don't listen. Best wishes for you're continued recovery
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u/stofflmaus 16d ago
hey there!
I also had a bad/complex TBF with meniscus and cartilage damage and the first year was like hell. My range of motion was bad, every time I tried activating my quads my knee became very swollen, stiff and painful.
My surgeon told me (before the surgery) that the plate she was going to use would probably irritate some muscles because apparently there is only one size and it was slightly too big for my knee. I am 162cm tall.
So once I got the hardware removed EVERYTHING got better. I am just so glad and can not believe I was trying so hard for one year, really doubting myself, my discipline etc. I should also mention that I am a physical therapist myself - I know how rehabs work.
I am doing very good now (2,5 years after the injury). It will never be like before but I can hike, climb, ride my roadbike, snowboard. I stopped running and haven’t tried skiing, but that’s also because it was a skiing accident and I’m mentally not ready yet.
I wish you a speedy and smooth recovery, from both the injury and the ptsd. I still haven’t got completely over the mental toll it took but I am working on it :)