"As soon as I was back on the pitch with my friends, all thoughts of quitting were completely gone."
Benjamin Brown works in the consultancy industry and he is a passionate rugby player. He broke his forearm during a league match and has been wearing a Medartis implant ever since. Born near Birmingham, the 27-year-old has been playing rugby since he was 5 years old. Benjamin is aware of the danger. Rugby is a risky sport and you have to accept that you can get hurt, even if you learn how to protect yourself naturally in training from a young age. Benjamin has several injuries in his sport carrier. But the complicated Ulnar fracture last October was the worst injury he has had so far in his sporting career. In a championship match, his arm hit the shin of an opposing player. Shortly afterwards, he had to be substituted. The pain was limited, but when he touched his arm, he felt that something was wrong. The next day he went to the nearby hospital, the Hirslanden clinic in the suburbs of Basel. For the doctor in charge, Dr. Nicolas Schmutz, Benjamin’s case was clear: the bone was displaced and the ulna shaft fracture needed open reduction and a plate fixation. In a short, one-and-a-half-hour operation, the bone was repositioned and fixed with a titanium Aptus 2.8 Trilock Ulna Shaft Plate and 11 screws. Thanks to the surgery, the young athlete was soon able to start fitness training again. He wore an elbow splint for protection during the first two weeks and started mobilization in the first week. He did not need physiotherapy. Just two weeks after the surgical treatment, he was able to do his first exercises and go back to a reduced work week. He recovered full range of movement after six weeks, and within three months, the young athlete was already back on skis in the Swiss Alps.
To learn more about the accident and the social significance of team sports for the young Brit, read the full story here.