12 screws, 1 plate = Lance’s collarbone

Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong has surgery to repair his right collarbone (clavicle) after a nasty cycling accident in Europe earlier this week (Broken collar bone: Lance Armstrong down).

Unfortunately, the bone needed more repair than originally thought. There wasn’t any clean break, in fact there were several breaks and, according to news reports, the doctors had to insert 12 screws and one metal plate to rebuild it.

Having seen how nasty those bike accidents can be in a bike race, I’m surprised there aren’t more severe injuries among the cyclists.

Some cyclists have come back to racing fairly quickly after breaking a collar bone, but considering the extent of the fracture, it’s a bit iffy to say that will be the case with Armstrong. It may depend on if there are any complications from the surgery, which is always possible.

~~~~

Image: PR Photos