Femur Rod Implant Removal Problems (Rod broke during removal)

[Rama]

Hi,

I was searching the web for some advice and information regarding removal of rod implants in bones.

This is related to Femur bone implant, any information in that matter would be helpful for us and very much appreciated.

My wife had a long rod implanted in her right Femur bone about 5 years ago
due to a fracture (occurred in an unfortunate bike accident) in Femur bone.
She was ok for a while (about 3-4 years) without any discomfort.
She had gained some weight since the surgery: about 30-35 lbs (during this
4 years).

She started getting severe pain in her knee about an year ago (4 years after
the implant). The doctors couldn't understand the cause of the pain. They
took x-ray images and even MRI of the knee joint (the MRI images were not
clear according to the doctor due to metal rod). They had mentioned that the Rod implant looks ok. One of the doctors suggested to have the Rod
removed giving a reason that sometimes the hardware could cause
discomfort.
Following that suggestion we had the Rod now removed last week. But
during the surgery the entire Rod did not come out, only 3/4th of the Rod
came out and the remaining part is still in the bone.
According to the Surgeon who performed the operation the part of the Rod that remained
inside is stuck and there is calcium formation around that Rod and hence it
did not come out and it's ok if we leave it there, he also mentioned that there were no other fragmentation of the Rod, the Rod broke around one of the grooves and a 5 inch lower part of the rod remained inside.

At this point we are not sure what to expect and what to do.
Is it ok for the part of the Rod to be there ?
What if the Rod after some time breaks free and moves around ?
How difficult is it to remove that lower part of the Rod (which is about 5-6 inches)?

My wife currently is still in the hospital, it's just one day since the Surgery
and they haven't yet taken the x-ray
image after the operation. We don't have the information yet from
the doctor on whether the left out piece of the Rod is screwed to the bone ?

Can you please let us know if you have any advice in this situation or atleast point us to the right resource ?

Any information with this matter would be of a great help to us.

Thanks,
Rama.

[Shaffer]

Hi, i'm 20 years old and i just had a rod put in my femur in april, i am going feb 29th to get it out, i am concerned about your wife's condiction, please let me know what she made out?

[oneil]

i had a rod implanted aug. 2007 and am getting it removed september of 2008, im just wondering if its really a quicker heeling process then when it was first put in??

[CPL Punishment]

Try getting shot and then have your femur replaced with a titanium rod.

[Rafael Lopez]

Rama wrote:

Hi,
I was searching the web for some advice and information regarding removal of rod implants in bones.
This is related to Femur bone implant, any information in that matter would be helpful for us and very much appreciated.
My wife had a long rod implanted in her right Femur bone about 5 years ago
due to a fracture (occurred in an unfortunate bike accident) in Femur bone.
She was ok for a while (about 3-4 years) without any discomfort.
She had gained some weight since the surgery: about 30-35 lbs (during this
4 years).
She started getting severe pain in her knee about an year ago (4 years after
the implant). The doctors couldn't understand the cause of the pain. They
took x-ray images and even MRI of the knee joint (the MRI images were not
clear according to the doctor due to metal rod). They had mentioned that the Rod implant looks ok. One of the doctors suggested to have the Rod
removed giving a reason that sometimes the hardware could cause
discomfort.
Following that suggestion we had the Rod now removed last week. But
during the surgery the entire Rod did not come out, only 3/4th of the Rod
came out and the remaining part is still in the bone.
According to the Surgeon who performed the operation the part of the Rod that remained
inside is stuck and there is calcium formation around that Rod and hence it
did not come out and it's ok if we leave it there, he also mentioned that there were no other fragmentation of the Rod, the Rod broke around one of the grooves and a 5 inch lower part of the rod remained inside.
At this point we are not sure what to expect and what to do.
Is it ok for the part of the Rod to be there ?
What if the Rod after some time breaks free and moves around ?
How difficult is it to remove that lower part of the Rod (which is about 5-6 inches)?
My wife currently is still in the hospital, it's just one day since the Surgery
and they haven't yet taken the x-ray
image after the operation. We don't have the information yet from
the doctor on whether the left out piece of the Rod is screwed to the bone ?
Can you please let us know if you have any advice in this situation or atleast point us to the right resource ?
Any information with this matter would be of a great help to us.
Thanks,
Rama.

It seems that the rod was put in from the hip and removed from the hip. You need to make sure that the rod was not inserted too far so that it entered the knee. If the end of the rod entered the knee, then it must come out. She may also have a problem with the knee that may have occurred at the time of the original injury that may improve with knee arthroscopy.

[Rafael Lopez]

CPL Punishment wrote:

Try getting shot and then have your femur replaced with a titanium rod.

Should be. The bone is already healed.

[Rafael Lopez]

oneil wrote:

i had a rod implanted aug. 2007 and am getting it removed september of 2008, im just wondering if its really a quicker heeling process then when it was first put in??

Should be. The bone is already healed.

[Muhammad Muzammil]

I got my Femur fractured in Jan-o8, it was a swear accident if a result of it, my femur got fractured from 7 to 8 spots and doctors cut all of thighs with some portion of my hip to do the operation, the wound was 84 stitches long, now although its about 6 months now, bone is almost healed up but i am feeling as my leg is shorter than the other leg, so that i can not walk freely. i always limping.My concern is, is there any possibility that i can get my leg size back? and when should i get my rod removed? The rod is from Hip joint to Knee joint and its about 24inches long, also there are three screws or nails to fix it, one in hip joint other two are in knee.
your advice will be so beneficial for me.

[Padam JAIN]

I had implanted femor rod in sep 1997 now i am having diiffiulty in movements and pinches on hips sharply and creating some residual deposit in hip area which was removed by a doctor in USA. Advised for removal. kinldly advise what is proper I am 74 yrs

[hussain]

I had a car accident 3 years ago and snaped my femur in the process. I had a metal rod and 5 screws inserted to hold my bone in place after the operation my wounds got infected with MRSA. Its been 3 years now the bone has now healed and the MRSA has gone after 3 more operations but i still have sharp pains in my knee and have recently been advised to have it removed, I am not sure what to do i'm 18 years old and have just got my life back on track and i've been told that another operation might get infected with a aggressive form of MRSA which could be potentaily dangerous. i'm realy confused, any advise would be good at this stage.

[Jared]

I was in a accident July 20th 2007, I shattered my femur in 3 places, I now have a IM nail that also goes from my hip joint to just above my knee joint, I also have 1 or 2 screws in my hip and 2 in my knee not sure how many in my hip cause I have not seen a x-ray that high up. They had to remove about 6in of bone in the middle of my femur cause it was shattered. My doctor told me that I could have it removed if I wanted to, He did tell me if I was going to ride motorcycles again to remove it cause bents bars make it worse. It's been 11 months since my accident I am not sure if I will have it removed at this point, I do have pain in my leg and hip on a day to day basis. I am a extreme wake boarder and a fireman it does not really bother me that much. I do have discomfort and limp when my knee or hip hurts. I would say the choice on removing it would be on a person to person basis and it would depend on your activities. There are postive and negatives to both.

[Erika]

I am very similar to your wife!
My hip had been hurting for a couple months, so I got an x-ray and they found a mass in my femur. So I went to the dr. and he said it was a cyst and I could choose to have surgery or not. I chose to have surgery, and they took the cyst out and put a titanium rod in from my hip to knee. This was in Jan. 2008. My hip still hurts like it did before my surgery. My knee has been hurting for a couple years. But it has been excrutiating the past couple months.(My hip and knee switch days to hurt.) I went back to the dr. and he ordered an MRI so I got one Fri. and I don't know the results of it yet. I do know that my rod is not hitting my knee.
Why does it hurt when you have a rod in your leg and it rains or gets cold outside? My dr. said that it would hurt when that happens, but I don't know why.

[Fall Guy]

I have Bi-lateral Femoral Rods, and want to get them removed asap. They have been in 3 years, and I have experienced severe right hip pain, and "this may be caused by the hardware" Whatever it is I what it out! From what I've been told. It will be about a 4 week on crutches recovery. I have so many problems working with this pain, I cannot wait for the procedure.

[alice]

When they attempted to remove my femoral rod, the screws were stripped! The rod remains. The surgeon said that if I still want to get it removed, it will be a much bigger surgery and recovery time. Any info out there as to what tools the medical field has to get out a stripped screw? I know that carpenters encounter and remove them without incident!

Car accident, 1994. Only now experiencing hip pain. Keeping my weight down; the only thing I feel I have control over!

[Kamal]

oneil wrote:

i had a rod implanted aug. 2007 and am getting it removed september of 2008, im just wondering if its really a quicker heeling process then when it was first put in??

I got accident on aug 3 2008 and had operation the next day and now am feling good. Please let me know after six months were you able to move/run normally like before operation. Have you got your rod removed and how you feel after that

[deb]

my 20 year old niece broke her femur bone after tripping on a tree branch. they put a rod in the
bone. after a week she went back to college and was back in hospital within a week. during her stay
she broke out in fever had leg swelling while they
did test after test. then sent her to the orginal hospital where she died 4 days later due to severe infection. she was in hospitals for 4 weks before she died how does this happen.

[janice]

I was in a car wreck November 12, 2000 and I broke my femur. It was my families choice for me to get the rod in my leg...I wish I would have had another choice...It has been almost 8 years now and I have problems with my leg all the time...My knee gives out all the time....Severe pain when that happens...My hip pinches me alot...I would not suggest it to anyone...I cannot run and I have problems walking up and down the stairs(enough that I avoid stairs) I never knew that you could have the rod removed until recently and I am truely considering it...

[BlueJ]

janice wrote:

I was in a car wreck November 12, 2000 and I broke my femur. It was my families choice for me to get the rod in my leg...I wish I would have had another choice...It has been almost 8 years now and I have problems with my leg all the time...My knee gives out all the time....Severe pain when that happens...My hip pinches me alot...I would not suggest it to anyone...I cannot run and I have problems walking up and down the stairs(enough that I avoid stairs) I never knew that you could have the rod removed until recently and I am truely considering it...

I have a rod in my right femur from a car "accident" in 1999. My bone was fractured so bad that I was told that I could never have the rod removed because I have a hole in the middle of my femur. My leg is very heavy, and even though it doesn't feel like it did right after surgery, when the weather changes I feel the weight all over again. I have four screws in total, including hardware in my rigth forearm. Does anyone know of negative reactions to the hardware?

I feel for us all :-/

[mbell]

alice wrote:

When they attempted to remove my femoral rod, the screws were stripped! The rod remains. The surgeon said that if I still want to get it removed, it will be a much bigger surgery and recovery time. Any info out there as to what tools the medical field has to get out a stripped screw? I know that carpenters encounter and remove them without incident!
Car accident, 1994. Only now experiencing hip pain. Keeping my weight down; the only thing I feel I have control over!

alice I so can relate. I have been led to believe that rods in for that long could not be removed.. I also have mine due to a MVA early 1994. Then another accident in 2001 made the rods move up my femurs poking into my hip area (BIG TIME PAIN) my pins were removed months after the surgry, b/c i had a hard time walking. Like u I feel my life has been handed over to something else - completely out of my control!
How do you get anyone to listen to you to get the darn things OUT!??? ANYONE?

[mbell]

Please if someone knows what i can do to get these rods out please let me know. MVA 1994, rods put in both femurs (couple mo later screws removed because i couldn't walk with them in there). No pain - no problem for years.
Another MVA in 2001 where head on collision ends up with knees in dashboard - rods now poking out of top of both femurs. T
This is extremely painful and all any Dr. has given me is drugs.. Im only in my early 30's am I supposed to live on drugs, being a zombie the rest of my life!!! Even with med.'s I still cant do the things I used to after the first MVA. There was 6inches if bone regrowth, but that doesn't seem to be much of a problem if they can shoot out like that.
Or is the problem the drs are lacking equipment or skill/confidence?? I ask what about how I and we all feel. This should not be allowed to happen!! I WOULD RATHER RISK ANYTHING THAN LIVE MY LIFE IN THIS NON-PRODUCTIVE, DEPRESSING WAY!- Maybe it just doesn't matter how we feel.