Collarbone hardware

I saw the doctor today for the first time since my surgery.

The nurse assistant took off the medi-strips over my scar.  Their adhesive was so great the strips stayed on even after all these showers and getting wet.  Even though areas around the scar are still numb I could feel the strips as she pried and pulled them off, pulling my skin as the strips came off.

The doctor was pleased with how my scar looks.

Here is how my scar looks after I cleaned most, but not all, of the adhesive off my skin.  As you can see the scar is fairly long.

Here are before and after views of my collarbone.  Notice: lots of long screws.   Looks to be nine screws.

In the middle of the previous photo you can see the 5th broken bone below the middle of the plate.  This is the bone the doctor left rather than cut around my bone in order to screw it to the other bone.  The doctor said it will grown back together with the main bone.

In the previous photo you can see the gap between the main bones plated together. (Between the third and fourth screws from the left).

My next appointment to see the doctor is in a month.  Until then, don't lift anything with that arm.

He wanted me to keep using the sling.  The only reason to do so was so I don't lift anything with my left arm.  He relented when I said I am left handed and the sling gets in the way of eating, etc.

We'll look into starting therapy in a month after my next visit.  Right now I move my arm everywhere but up.  I keep the arm below shoulder level as the higher I move my arm the more I feel it in my shoulder.

Otherwise my shoulder is doing fine.  No pain, but at times, usually as the day wears on, my shoulder feels 'annoying'.  'Annoying' means an odd combination of sore, ache and pressure.