denny | Scars and suchlike

Various people asked, so, here they are...

ObDisclaimer: Behind the cut are pictures of the scars I've acquired recently, including the skin graft and the skin graft donor site. Don't click through unless you want to see that kind of picture.

Front of leg

The scar down the front of my leg, from the original operation to fix the bone damage. The little dots each side are from the staples that held it closed, rather than stitches. They felt odd coming out :)

Inner aspect of calf

The inner calf, the result of the second operation, to fix complications from the first. They had to go in on both sides... this one they managed to sew up again a few days later (the third operation).

This is what a skin graft looks like, apparently. Outer aspect of calf, also a result of the second operation, but they couldn't sew this one back up - hence the graft (fourth operation).

Thigh

This is where they took the skin from my thigh to use on my calf. This bit hurt more than all the rest put together and multiplied by 10, during the first week after it was done. Some small bits of it have healed up now, but it seems to be slow going...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yep, all pics taken about five minutes before posting. The graft site looks so bad because the poxy cast they initially had me in really aggravated it. The small bits that weren't touched by the cast are almost healed now. *grump*

They didn't put any growth stimulants etc in there, just the metalwork. I think there was some concern about the knee trying to grow out in directions it shouldn't, due to general surface abrasion of the bone, which problem a growth stimulant would presumably exacerbate.

It's not really a growth stimulant, it's like a porous chunk of bone mineral that's made artificially, and they put it in the gap between the broken ends, and the bone from the broken ends grows into it faster than it would grow into an empty gap, like giving them a staircase instead of making them climb over each other's shoulders. Mostly it comes as a solid lump that they put into the gap, but there are a couple of kinds that come as a putty that they can squeeze in with a wide needle while you're unconscious, then it sets to a porous solid afterwards.

Although the knee is probably why they didn't use it, I hadn't thought of that. Bits might come off and travel round or something and that would then Suck Mightily.

Scars and suchlike

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