Distal Radius Fracture - Experience with no surgery?
UPDATE (20 aug)
Thank you for all your replies. I went to surgery today but ended up saying no. My head is a mess right now. I was prepared to have the surgery but then I had a chat with the surgeon before the surgery. I asked a couple of questions. First, I asked why no closed reduction had been tried. He said that we had to go to the screen to look at the x-rays. After he had a look he said that closed reduction could have been tried but coldn't tell why it had not been tried. I also asked why ER said 10 degrees and ortho said 20 degrees. He looked at the x-rays again and said that the ortho had used a slightly wrong starting point and he measured it to 11.x degrees.
Now, for me it did not feel right to go through with the surgery after that chat and I said I could not do it now. Now, I will be booked for a follow up with new x-rays and I have contacted my insurance for a second opinion as well.
But seriously, my head is spinning and will try to gather my thoughts. Again, thank you for your replies.
Situation
On Saturday, I hurt my wrist playing sports.
On Sunday, I went to ER and they confirmed it was broken.
The doctor told me briefly that his best guess would be it could heal in a cast. Nothing further was done. No attempt to move the wrist in place (closed reduction). The description from the X-ray was (translated):
"The X-ray of the right wrist shows: a distal radius fracture with approximately 10 degrees of dorsal angulation. There is an impression of a possible undisplaced intra-articular fracture line."
On Monday, I was called up by the hospital for a check on Tuesday. On Tuesday, I was told that they recommended surgery. Their description from the same X-ray picture was (translated):
"Normal neurovascular conditions in the hand.
X-ray shows a distal radius fracture, acceptable length in the AP plane, but angulated dorsally approximately 20 degrees in the lateral plane."
They offered me surgery tomorrow (Thursday). I have to decide today.
My finger mobility is fine. I can make a fist, bend my fingers, and my thumb can reach my little finger with only minimal discomfort. Supination is not great but hard to say if it due to the cast.
Maybe my situation is a no brainer but I have just been lefted a bit confused due to the different feedback from the same pictures and no attempt at closed reduction.
I’m mainly posting here to hear from others who’ve been in a similar situation. What have your experiences been. Whether you chose surgery or decided against it?