Dissatisfied with my surgery results

So, I was in a pretty bad car accident recently—ended up with multiple fractures—and honestly, I’m not feeling great about how the surgery turned out, even though my surgeon insists everything went exactly according to plan.
Specifically, it's my lower leg that’s bothering me; I can't seem to get my knee to straighten all the way, but when I bring it up, the doctor just flat-out denies there was any mistake made during the procedure.

I'm trying to figure out what my next move should be here. I'm genuinely worried that if I can't get my leg straight, it's going to mess up my gait permanently, and I don't want to be dealing with walking issues for the rest of my life.

Thanks!

Eric Ortiz4 said:After getting caught up in a car accident that left me with multiple fractures, I’m feeling pretty uneasy about how the surgery turned out—even though my surgeon insists everything went exactly according to plan.
The main issue is my lower leg; I can't seem to get my knee to straighten all the way, and despite my concerns, the doctor is flat-out denying that any mistake was made during the procedure.

I’m trying to figure out what my next move should be. I'm genuinely worried that if I can't fully straighten my leg, it’s going to mess up my gait and cause permanent issues with how I walk.

Thanks!

I'm not entirely sure if you're looking for advice on potential legal action here, or if you're more interested in ways to speed up your physical recovery?

Michelle Perez40 said:I’m not entirely sure if you’re looking for advice on potential legal action or if you just want to know how to speed up the recovery process.

What I really care about is whether the bone is actually sitting where it belongs. It just feels... off. Like it's not in its natural position, and I can't even fully straighten my knee.
Is it worth getting a second or third opinion from another surgeon or maybe a physical therapist?

Eric Ortiz4 said:I’m really wondering if the bone is actually sitting where it should be. It feels like something is out of alignment, and I can't quite get my knee to straighten all the way.
Should I go out of my way to get a second or even third opinion from another surgeon or maybe a physical therapist?

If you want to know for sure if the bone is aligned properly, an X-ray is your best bet, and you can always just head to a private clinic to get one done. I’d guess it won't cost much more than $67 a standard co-pay. Once you have the imaging, it would be smart to have a surgeon take a look at it. Honestly, though, I doubt the bone is actually displaced, but getting that confirmation would at least give you some peace of mind that everything is structurally sound.
That said, once you've dealt with injuries and surgeries, it’s perfectly normal for that area to feel just... off. Seeing a physiatrist and following up with some physical therapy would almost certainly help you regain your range of motion. There's also a chance part of the issue is just the wound healing or scar tissue buildup. Scars can be a real pain when it comes to mobility because they make the skin less flexible, which creates that sense of tightness. You might want to try massaging the area with some lotion or body oil to help soften things up.

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I’m 33 years old, and I went through a pretty traumatic fall about eight months ago. To make matters worse, it took specialists five whole months just to realize there was an actual fracture in my humerus and a tear in my supraspinatus tendon—they were all too busy blaming every bit of pain on a C5-C6 disc prolapse in my neck instead.
Here’s what the MRI on my cervical spine shows: Progression of findings at the C5-C6 level involving disc herniation, with the disc making tight contact against the ventral contour of the spinal cord, along with reduced foraminal space on the right side and displacement of the posterior longitudinal ligament. There are also osteochondrotic degenerative changes in the discs from C4 through C7.
And here is the MRI report for my right shoulder: A multi-fragmentary impaction fracture in the tuberculum area, featuring a defect in the convexity of the anterior tuberculum—essentially affecting the entire attachment site for the supraspinatus tendon. The defect measures 25x11mm. There is also visible linear hyperintensity in the anterior glenoid labrum area, so I can't rule out a lesion there either. Additionally, there is synovial reaction around the long head of the biceps tendon and osteoarthritis in the acromioclavicular joint.

I finally had surgery a month ago—a shoulder arthroscopy—but the orthopedic surgeon basically just cleaned up the inflammation and worked on range of motion. I did ten days of rehab, only to have an ultrasound show that the tear is still the dominant issue and the defect wasn't actually repaired during the procedure. I have an appointment scheduled with Dr. Smith in September to address both the neck and the shoulder, but does anyone have any advice on what else I should be doing? I'm terrified of my shoulder freezing up, and honestly, the pain is becoming unbearable. Am I looking at another surgery???

Thanks,

Eric Ortiz4 said:After being involved in a car accident that left me with multiple fractures, I’m really unhappy with how the surgery turned out—even though my surgeon insists everything went perfectly according to plan.
Specifically, I’m worried about my lower leg and the fact that I can't fully straighten my knee. My surgeon keeps denying that any error occurred during the procedure.

I’m looking for advice on what steps I should take next. I'm genuinely concerned that if I can't get my leg straight, it’s going to cause permanent issues with my gait.

Thanks!

My dad went through something remarkably similar when he broke his femur. They put so much hardware in his knee that he couldn't straighten his leg at all. His surgeon insisted everything was fine, so he traveled to another city to get a second opinion. Even there, they didn't find a surgical mistake, but they did discover some scar tissue buildup, which they cleared out via arthroscopy. Eventually, he saw a private specialist who was absolutely horrified to find that the screws used were actually too long, preventing the joint from moving properly. He ended up paying for a third surgery, and after just two days, he was walking out of the hospital. After that, things were okay. However, because his muscles had atrophied so much by that point, he dealt with slight walking difficulties for the rest of his life—nothing major, but it was noticeable.
P.S. This was quite a long time ago, so please excuse my lack of medical terminology.
P.S. Looking at the X-rays, even I could see as a layman that the screws were too long; I have no idea how the surgeon missed that.

Robin Diaz4 said:My dad went through something almost identical when he broke his femur. They put all these screws in his knee, and it ended up being so messed up he couldn't even straighten his leg. The surgeon insisted everything was fine, so we drove to another city to get a second opinion. Still nothing—they couldn't find an actual error, just some scar tissue buildup that eventually had to be cleared out via arthroscopy. Finally, we went to a private specialist who was absolutely horrified; apparently, the screws were way too long and were physically blocking the joint from moving properly. He paid for a third surgery, and somehow, he was back home walking in two days. Everything worked after that. But by then, the muscle atrophy had already set in, so he dealt with slight walking issues for the rest of his life—nothing huge, just enough to notice if you were looking.
P.S. This was ages ago, so my memory of the medical jargon is pretty fuzzy.
P.S. Looking at the X-ray, even I could tell as a layperson that those screws were too long. I have no idea how the surgeon missed that.

Thanks.
Which city did you go to for that private specialist, and what does a consultation like that run you?

Eric Ortiz4 said:After getting into a bad car accident and dealing with multiple fractures, I’m really not happy with how my surgery turned out—even though my surgeon insists everything went perfectly.
Specifically, I'm worried about my lower leg and the fact that I can't fully straighten my knee, but the doctor keeps denying there was any mistake during the procedure.

I'm wondering what my next steps should be. I'm honestly terrified that if I can't get my leg straight, it's going to mess up my walking long-term.

Thanks!

If the surgery was pretty recent, you probably just need to put in a ton of work with physical therapy.

If it's been a while, it might be worth looking into getting the plates and screws removed.
That's actually what most people end up doing anyway.

When I broke my wrist, even after PT, I couldn't quite get full range of motion back—it felt about 10% off.
Once I had the hardware taken out, my mobility was finally back to normal, just like my other hand.

Thanks for all the input.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a private surgeon out near the Midwest or maybe in Washington, D.C.?

And what kind of legal avenues are we actually looking at when it comes to suing for damages?

Christian Nelson22 said:So, what kind of legal avenues are actually open if you want to go after them for damages?

From what I gather, your first move has to be filing a formal grievance directly with the hospital or the medical facility where the surgery took place. Most hospitals have their own specific paperwork for patient complaints, or you can just head straight to the administration office to ask how they handle these things. You’ll need to lay out exactly what went wrong and attach all your medical records and test results to back it up. If my memory serves me right, the facility director is supposed to get back to you with a response within about eight days.
If their response leaves you feeling like you were brushed off, your next step would be reaching out to patient advocacy groups or contacting a healthcare ombudsman service.