Saw my surgeon today because he had to cancel tomorrows appointment
CT scan shows that my sternum is fractured at the top end
He said it happened during the time I was in the hospital or
nursing home, and when he increased my weight limit in the
last 2 weeks, that is when the symptoms showed up
I had told the nurses in the nursing home that I felt something POP
as I was there, and they told me it was probably just normal
healing...He said my appetite was so poor after surgery,
and I was not eating and that is when the body needs nourishment
and protein
I am not freaking out anymore now...We found the problem and
Doctor says we will keep an eye on it. He told me how to check
everyday for infection, and to increase my proteins and calcium
including those Power Drinks, sugar free, with the 40 grams of
protein
I told him I knew something was wrong, and he said that if more
people listened to their bodies, he would be performing less
surgeries, but people like me who have never had any symptoms
usually do not know that is normal or abnormal
Thank you all very much, I really appreciate your concern and messages
Mary
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mary hedtke
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-12-2019 20:44
From: mary hedtke
Subject: Clicking And Popping In The Sternum Chest Area
Thank you so much Brent
I just received my CT scan results tonight, and am
not Medically Savvy, but looked up a few words in the
summery they noted..From what I could understand there is
no infection and I have an appointment with my surgeon on
Tuesday and He will be better able to tell me exactly what
the CT Impression means
Impression
Multiple sternal wires are present. Sternotomy defect lucency
is present without evidence of significant osseous bridging. No definite
destructive changes to suggest acute osteomyelitis.
Again, Thank you so much Brent
Mary
Original Message------
Mary,
You indicated that shortly after your surgery you started hearing popping cracking sounds in your chest I agree with the advice that you probably started the wrong type of exercise too soon.
My surgeon advised that exercises stressing the cartilage that bound my ribs together, before the cartilage healed, could cause a permanent problem. How long healing would take varies from person-to-person but, I believe, always takes at least a month and probably two since bones take at least six weeks.
I analogize our bodies to machines. In machines, whenever two non-flexible objects, like ribs, are connected in a joint that moves, like our ribs do when we take deep breaths, there has to be a flexible connector, like cartilage, to prohibit problems from friction between the non-flexible objects, like our ribs. Similar to a bone, if the cartilage's form is altered before it achieves its strength, it will remain altered.
I hope using non-medical terms is helpful.
Brent Zepke
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Brent Zepke
Santa Barbara CA
(805) 698-4651
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