Sign-in to Ask A Doctor - 24x7
OR
Sign in with GoogleGet your health question answered instantly from our pool of 18000+ doctors from over 80 specialties
Done Surgery For Distal Radial Fracture. Have Pain And Soreness In Arm, No Redness
I had surgery for a distal radial fracture on June 4. Have been in a cast since then, last x-rays showed the titanium plate and screws look good, still lots of small fragments floating around. New cast was put on June 21 and I have been experiencing more pain and soreness since June 29. My arm is sore to the touch all the way up past my elbow and the area around the incision(which is of course under the cast) feels very painful. No redness until tonight I noticed a small circle shaped rash on arm above cast. Very small, nickel sized. I did not expect this level of pain in hand and fingers at this point. Should I contact Dr or am I being silly?
posted on
Sun, 7 Jul 2013
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Sun, 7 Jul 2013
Answered on
Tue, 9 Jul 2013
Last reviewed on
Hi, thanks for writing to HCM.
It looks from the description that you might have sustained a COMMINUTED fracture (number of pieces) of distal radius.
Generally, it not possible to practically fix each and every small bony fragment with plate and screws and infact its not needed also as they will fall into alignment once the main fragments are fixed with implants.
May be the pain and soreness could be due to the pressure exerted on the suture line by the tightly applied cast .
Consult your treating doctor to get clarified about all the issues.
Hope this helps
It looks from the description that you might have sustained a COMMINUTED fracture (number of pieces) of distal radius.
Generally, it not possible to practically fix each and every small bony fragment with plate and screws and infact its not needed also as they will fall into alignment once the main fragments are fixed with implants.
May be the pain and soreness could be due to the pressure exerted on the suture line by the tightly applied cast .
Consult your treating doctor to get clarified about all the issues.
Hope this helps
I find this answer helpful
Disclaimer: These answers are for your information only and not intended to replace your relationship with your treating physician.
This is a short, free answer.
For a more detailed, immediate answer, try our premium service
[Sample answer]
Related questions you may be interested in
Recent questions on Bone fracture
Loading Online Doctors....