Piece of plastic in my leg

My ex-husband threw an ashtray at me once and as it shattered, a piece of glass embedded deeply into my foot. The medical profession left it where it was. About 15 years later, it started to come nearer to the surface and become painful to walk on so I used a bread poultice for a couple of days. Somewhat to my surprise, a small piece of glass came out even though there was no visible exit hole. It didn't hurt at all and I could walk perfectly normally again.

What an amazing story Musicgirl

The fact that the last operation was successful in restoring some hearing is astonishing, given the complexity of the surgery.

I agree with Welshwife.

Aepgirl. As an ex district nurse I can assure you that district nurses have a far more up to date knowledge and understanding of wound care than any GP I’ve ever worked with. In fact it’s common practice for DN’s to teach wound care to practice nurses and GPS. Why? Because they keep up to date with research!!!

"eventually it was Acupuncture which took away the pain permanently."

No it wasn't. It just 'got better'. Mostly, things do. And yes, if you stick a pin in the right place it can make a muscle jump.

But the main point is that you feel better. Good.

When I had my hysterectomy in 1990, the incision was sewn up with one long blue plastic "stitch." When it came time to take it out the (student) nurse made the mistake of snipping the knots at both ends. Of course it immediately pinged to a shorter length than the wound. It's still there and I've barely thought of it over the last thirty years!

I am sorry to hear about your accident and hope you feel better soon. When l saw the title of the post l thought it was about different parts of the body that have been replaced. I will still mention my slightly unusual plastic replacement. As a child l suffered from continual ear infections and when l was ten l had mastoid surgery (this is major surgery that even then was unusual due to antibiotics). This involved all the infected bones of the middle ear being removed and left me with no ear drum and no middle ear. Over the years, though, l still had infections until in 2010 l had the operation in reverse. My incredibly clever surgeon, one of only a few in the country to perform such surgery, made a new eardrum from a skin graft and replaced all the tiny middle ear bones with plastic ones. Best of all it has given me quite a lot of my hearing back.

A poultice of fresh ginger (sliced or mashed) is fantastic for drawing out rose thorns, etc. Perhaps you could try that?

Yes, you must get it removed. Sadly I have very little faith in District Nurses who seem to think they know everything. I would ask for a second opinion at your GP practice, as I don’t think you can go to A&E when you have had treatment already.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

farview, make that call to the doctor this morning. I would not be happy to have a piece of plastic left in my leg.

ask for a referral to plastic surgeons.
keep a close watch on it.
any sign of swelling, redness, tracking, extra pain: go straight to A&E.
by the way, did it travel through clothing, or were you working with bare legs.

Did they give you an anti-tetanus vaccination because they should have done if yours was not up- to-date?

I think you need to insist on seeing someone else about this.

Oh dear farview. Sorry to hear this is still going on.

I hope your GP will either be able to reassure you that it’s ok to be left to work its way out, or is able to suggest something else.

I’m struggling to understand why it couldn’t have been removed under a local anaesthetic in the hospital.

farview do you have any pins, plates or joint replacements? If so this is a foreign body and not a clean one. Even if you are free from metal I would definitely nag my GP to get it removed.

In normal times my GP surgery runs a minor ops session once a week- does yours?

That's pretty impressive Grandmafrench and I'm most definitely going to see if my GP can refer me onto an acupuncturist once face to face appointments are back on the agenda. What with burning spurs on my feet and needing 2 TKR ops, I'll be like the bionic woman if when I get it all done!

It's worth having it done.

Chewbacca that sounds really painful - 2 toe spurs/osteophytes on each foot. How mean to turn down your request for surgical intervention. It would probably be dealt with as a Day Case (well, these days) and if we don't have proper use of our feet we're going to be a bit of a liability, aren't we. I can see that the NHS has limited funds but when reading about the money wasted on really frivolous stuff.....well, enough said.

I had Acupuncture, as I said, after my very kind Doctor said he could do no more, I had permanent pain when I walked and the same when I put up my feet and rested. My Mum used to outwalk me and I was not sleeping properly because of pain. I tried an Osteopath, tried Shiatsu, consulted a Podiatrist, had special insoles in my shoes. No use. Had only 2 sessions of Acupuncture. Not remotely painful, just a bit weird and a couple of the needles (fine little hairlike things) in my calf caused my leg to fly up off the couch on its own !! Could walk comfortably after the second session. The most important thing is that I have never had heel pain or problems walking since. That was 30 years ago.

...think its because it's off a obviously dirty garden strimmer that worries me...realistically am sure it will be ok...but will speak to doc...nitegodbless

I think you need to make further enquiries, farview but, having said that, we have two family members who had either pins or plates inserted which then worked their way out of their bodies, one a few months later, the other several years later.

DS had a bone spur removed several years ago, Chewbacca, general anaesthetic, time off school and crutches for quite a while followed by a lot of physiotherapy.

Grandmafrench & SueDonim, I'm really glad that you've posted about painful bone spurs, I've rarely seen anyone mention them before. I have them on the top of 2 toes on each foot and they "burn" like mad some days. I've another on my clavicle and, whilst that's not painful, it's unsightly. I enquired about having the ones on my toes abraded, some years ago, but I was told that it was out of the question. So acupuncture is a good suggestion that I hadn't considered.

Grandmafrench yes, very painful! I wouldn’t bother if it was for cosmetic reasons but feeling like a red hot wire is being rammed into your heel is excruciating. ? The Dr did mention the possibility of Achilles’ tendon complication but he said he’d never seen it himself.

Snap, SueDonim - a bone spur. Aren't they awful. I had endless non-surgical treatment for mine and eventually it was Acupuncture which took away the pain permanently. But I still feel it's unsightly and affects me buying shoes which fit properly. I almost, but not quite, decided to go to a private Clinic in Sussex some years ago where it can be treated just as you outlined!! I also saw them do it on t.v. The only risk that I had ever heard of (well before then) was the closeness to the Achilles Tendon. I never had the courage but I would think it's all a lot less risky and a more streamlined procedure than 30 years ago.

Good luck with your GP appointment, farview - don't let them dismiss your concerns. You should at least then be on some sort of list for treatment !!

I suppose at this time the NHS don’t want to do any non-essential procedures* so you may have to live with it for the time being. I’d keep a very close eye on it, though, and at the first sign of trouble, I’d get it checked out.

*What we think are simple procedures aren’t necessarily so. I have an overgrown bone on the heel of my foot. It can be painful so I enquired about having it removed. I thought it would just involve an incision, shaving off the extra bone and sewing it up again. But nope! It’s far more complicated, involving plaster casts and a year’s recovery time. All a moot point anyway as no elective surgery is being done.

When I was 16 I cut my hand on a piece of shattered glass, and a small piece went into the wound and I couldn’t get it out ....it was never removed and the doctor said it would be ok I worried at the time that it might ‘travel’ but presumably it hasn’t
Talk it over with your GP