Will I be DQ'ed?

[molloy09]

Well, as I have already told you guys, I broke my ankle in February and I needed two screws placed in my ankle to fix it. Those screws will be taken out in Late June, and I will not be able to do any real physical activity until September 15, 2008. The Doctor said that after the screws have been taken out, the holes in my bones will not heal until about March of 2009. These holes will appear on x-rays and so forth but my ankle should be working 100%
Does anyone know if this will disqualify me - if so, will I be able to get a waiver?

Also, last year, the doctor told me that I have a very slight, normal leak of the aorta. I know that this is a disqulaifier, but since it does not interupt any physical activity, and has no affect on me at all, will I be able to get a waiver for something like this?

 

[RetNavyHM]

molloy09,

Did your surgeon state that the hardware had to be removed or did you or your parents tell the surgeon that the hardware had to be removed? If the surgeon thinks the hardware will not be an issue, there is no reason to have it removed. Retained orthopedic hardware is not a disqualification as long as it is not in a place that could cause discomfort or be easily damaged.

If your surgeon states that the hardware needs to be removed after healing then as long as you have been released to full activities by your surgeon you should be good to go.

I'll throw in my 2 cents, and this is just my experience. You, your parents and your surgeon have the final say in what you decide to do. Anytime you undergo surgery you run the risk of complications. Your surgeon will have explained all this to you. Getting the hardware placed is needed according to the surgeon, so that is a needed risk. Getting the hardware removed if it is not going to cause any complications is an un-nessesary risk in my mind. Now if the surgeon feels that it will cause problems get it removed, but if its not, why take the risk? I could tell you horror stories, but I'll leave that for another time.

As always, if you have any other questions please feel free to let me know.

 

[molloy09]

The orthopedic surgeon said that it is neccessary to remove the screws or there is an extremely high risk that they will break. It is not really a big deal - in terms of the actual surgery. I am more worried about the holes that it will leave in my bones. Though I will be able to do full physical activity, I am afraid that DODMERB will disqualify me because they will be there until March/ April of next year. Do you think that these holes will disqualify me?

Thanks for all of the input.

 

[RetNavyHM]

Well listen to the surgeon.. He/she knows much better than I do!!

As I stated in my previous post, as long as the surgeon clears you for full activities there should not be an issue with DoDMERB.

 

[molloy09]

Thank you very much! That is a real relief. Hopefully my ankle will heal properly! On the plus side, my surgeon seems to know what he's doing..... he's a former Air Force doctor. Thanks so much for the useful advice and input!!!