Well, that's weird...

[shadesofmauve]

The last time I read up on procedures I had as a teen, I read, basically, "Oh, that was excruciatingly painful and left really nasty-ass scarring. We do it better now."

This time I found "Growth plate stapling was used because growth would resume when staples were removed. And then people realized it didn't."

So, er, yeah, the staples in my growth plate to temporarily halt growth and twist my knee back into position may theoretically be contributing to weirdness now? It's amazing what you learn when you haven't actually had an X-ray in ten years.

Also, if anyone's really macabre and wants inch-long titanium staples that were in my knee when I was sixteen, I still have 'em in a little plastic baggy. I'm thinking of mailing them to my friend Evan.

Without an explanation.

Comments

[opalgirl28.livejournal.com]

I have no idea what it is with medical types and giving their patients weird/slightly macabre things.

Cool story, me:
When I was sixteen, I had my three (fourth one wasn't there, had never formed according to x-rays) wisdom teeth extracted. When I came around to sort-of coherency, the oral surgeon's nurse was pushing this little bundle of tinfoil into my hand.

"That's your teeth," she said.

... Why would I want my teeth? IDGI.

[fenmere.livejournal.com]

Oh, I asked for my teeth! They're gross!

[virusq.livejournal.com]

They let you keep your teeth? They wouldn't let me! Damn!

[fenmere.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they told me that they really weren't supposed to let me keep them, but that they would if I promised not to touch them and to sterilize them immediately upon arriving home.

[fenmere.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I don't think I was supposed to tell anybody about it.

[westrider.livejournal.com]

Not only did my Dentist let me keep them, he drilled them out for me so I could put them on a necklace.

Never got around to it, but I've still got the teeth in a little bag in a drawer.

[shadesofmauve]

Okay, in this particular instance it wasn't the surgeon being macabre at all.

This was back in high-school...

My friend Evan found out about 'em and when I was having the removal surgery, and he asked if he could have 'em. I said sure, asked the doc, and he, er, returned them to me after they were removed (sterilized, obviously).

However, at some point in the intervening time someone got to my geeky friend Ev, or perhaps he just had a change of heart, and he decided it was weird and had been a bad thing to ask, and he didn't want them. Which is why I'm thinking of mailing them to him now.

[emony42.livejournal.com]

Oh, please do! I'll pay for postage. Now if only we could watch him open the package - I'd love to see his reaction! Thing we could talk one of the girls into surreptitiously filming it?

[shadesofmauve]

LOL. Do you think he'd even remember what they were? Or would it just be totally WTF?

[emony42.livejournal.com]

I'd bet on WTF, but with him I'm never completely certain. We could tuck a note of explanation at the bottom of the box, but either way it would be entertaining.

[virusq.livejournal.com]

The last time I read up on procedures I had as a teen, I read, basically, "Oh, that was excruciatingly painful and left really nasty-ass scarring. We do it better now."

AHAHAHAHAAH!

I hear that every time I talk to a doctor. "Oh, that? yeah, we found out that kills people/causes cancer/causes irreversible damage, so we're doing this now..."

Oh man. *wipes tear*

[shadesofmauve]

I know, right?

I'm all for progress and I think it's awesome we learn new things and HOORAY that the next person to get whatever has a better time, but it's freakin' WEIRD to learn on a personal level.

I haven't had any that were on the kills people/causes cancer level, thankfully.... the staple thing above is def. irreversible, but I don't actually know whether it was 'damage' or not and probably never will. I did find out that the device which basically kept me from sleeping for a solid year wasn't used right after I finished the procedure, because it was uncomfortable and totally ineffective. *head desk*

[baxaronn.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure no one's come up with anything better than the surgeries I had as a kid... but I sure hope they're doing them better, because it was really fun to find out years later that they overcompensated and fucked up my hips in the opposite direction. :Db

Yay for medical progress.

[shadesofmauve]

It's interesting to look, actually -- I didn't realize they had a new way of doing this until I went digging.

And, yeah, yay. I mean it non-sarcastically; progress is GREAT. It's just... weird... when you know you were the learning experience.