Racing

I know I signed off with my last post, but this addendum was too good to let go.

At my appointment in December, the consultant noted that the lower of the two screws that are holding the femoral nail in place had unwound itself a turn or two. He said this was unlikely to get worse, but if it did it would require intervention. A couple of weeks ago I started getting a very sharp pain when straightening the leg quickly, and there was a noticeable bump on the side of my knee, so I brought my next appointment forward by a few weeks, and, sure enough, the screw is continuing to try and get out. This is what it looks like:

The head of the screw should be flush with the bone, apparently. So, tomorrow I'm back under the knife to have the screw removed. I asked if it could be done under a local, to which the consultant replied "I tried that once - it wasn't very pleasant for the patient". So, it's another general anaesthetic for me, although this time it's such a small procedure that I'll only be under for a short period, and not even kept in overnight - in at midday, home at 8pm.

The good news is that the femur is continuing to grow new bone in the gaps. Here's the latest xray from last Tuesday:

The new bone growth above the nail has increased, and now there's some below the nail too. Which is all good news, and is why the offending screw can be removed, as it's not required any more.

So - over the years it's occasionally been suggested that I might have a screw loose, and now it's official! But at least I'm having it removed.