How long do pins and screws used to repair bones last?!
Question:
How long do pins and screws used to repair bones last?
I dislocated my left femur from the hi[ socket and fractured my acetabulum. Pins and screws were installed in 1981. My sciatic nerve was damaged ( peroneal branch) and I have drop foot syndrome. I have had a lot more pain the last few years- I am 48 now. I am wondering what I can do to ease the pain-it is getting intense and really effecting my daily living.
Answers:
Metal pins and screws do not dissolve in the body. They are usually made of stainless surgical grade steel or titanium. Thus they are rust-proof, and do not degrade. The idea behind steel hardware is to hold broken bones in place, sometimes allowing bone to grow on/around them. If they were not removed a few months after they were inserted, then they will be there when some future race unearths your skeleton in a few million years.
What you can do is go to your orthopaedic surgeon and tell him/her that you have the pins and that they are starting to really irritate the ever-loving frak out of you, and if there is anything more modern that medicine can do for you. In the meantime do as others have suggested and take some high-grade ibuprofen. Keep yourself mobile. I know that bone-joint conditions are made worse by inactivity.