Turning Struts

Since we only have at the most 17 days left of turning struts I thought I would post some tips on turning the struts to lengthen the leg before I forget the details. I know there are parts of this journey I will never forget but it is nice to learn from mothers that have been through this that some details do fade away...

• Turning struts is actually MUCH easier than I thought it would be. It sounds so painful but although uncomfortable, luckily it wasn't painful. Mary did say she could feel the bone being pulled.
• I have heard if it is painful to dose with pain medication prior to turning.
• Most of the struts were real easy to turn initially but as the leg grew and the tension changed they became tighter requiring the use of a 10mm wrench to turn the strut. The turning did seem more uncomfortable towards the end when their was more tension than when we first started turning.
• Mary was fine as long as she had a distraction (aka TV).
• Your doctor gives you a RX for turning the struts. The struts on Mary's fixator were all on different starting numbers once it was put on ranging from 172-195 and the RX tells you what number to turn each strut to daily. 



• Mary colored the columns to match the color of the strut on her leg. Each strut has a number and a different color at the top to help you tell them apart. Above the color and number is an arrow and a plus sign indicating the direction you turn to increase the number. This is the same area the 10 mm wrench fits.



using 10mm wrench to turn strut


• We highlighted the days we surprisingly didn't have to turn a specific strut in pink to bring it to our attention. Yes, there were some days you didn't have to turn every strut - yeah!
• Our RX was dated the day of surgery but we didn't start turning until 7 days afterwards so we corrected the dates to the left to minimize confusion.
• Recommend supplies:


• Yes: reading glasses, magnifying glass, 10 mm wrench from your doctor, and a pencil to mark off what you have done.
• I would check the number the strut was on (they can migrate), check the number I was supposed to turn it to for the day, then use my fingers if possible or the wrench if necessary to turn the strut one rotation. Check the strut to verify you turned it to the correct number. 
• People refer to clicking noises but they don't always click. Actually I don't think I ever heard a click.
• Mary has 6 struts and the whole process took just a couple of minutes. 
• Keep an eye on how many days you have left on your RX when you go to see your doctor for appointments because you may need new RX's along the way. The first RX got us to 3 cm. and the 2nd RX will get us to 6 cm.
• After 60 days of turning, our RX had the struts turning a range of 51-55 times based on built in days we skipped.
• Here's a good link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaPsuQxJSKk