I have noticed some surgeons seem completely careless about the length of their screws. For example, here is one case you can see:
To me this is incredibly sloppy. At the lower end of the femur, the screws are sticking out past the bone by 1-2 cm. The right femur screw is going past the bone by 2-3 cm.
This is insane. Those screws are digging into the muscle and soft tissue. Any time that person moves they are going to rub and tear the tissue.
How can surgeons be so careless about this sort of thing? If they're not sure, do an xray in the operating room once the nail is in the femur and must be screwed into place. It's not hard. Check the length they need right then and there. Take the extra five minutes to be sure you are using the right sized hardware for the job.
What would any carpenter tell you? Measure twice and drill once. It seems some of these surgeons are putting less thought into their work than the guy who installed my bathtub.
By contrast, here is an example of a perfect job:
The surgeon actually seems to have a roughly correct idea of the dimensions of the femur and has matched it based on his expected approach.
Has anyone noticed any trends with this based on x-rays posted on the forum? Has anyone asked a surgeon about their perspective on this issue?
Thanks