I had my final appointment with Dr. Lamey at the Boise Orthopedic Clinic. I went in to have the pin in my collarbone removed. This was the pin to set the collarbone after breaking it during the Houston Track World Cup Qualifier. The pin has been in four months and a bursa sac has formed where the pin exits the bone. This gave me a nice bump I can show to people to prove there is a pin inside. First I had two x-rays taken of the right clavicle. The x-ray tech was funny. She told me to inhale for the first x-ray, but she didn’t say anything for the second one. As she came to take the film she jokingly said, “Did you hold your breath?”

They scheduled me over the lunch hour, so Dr. Lamey wouldn’t be rushed taking the pin out. Laurie, his nurse, helped get the room ready. They had me take off my shirt and put a curtain-type thing around my chest, which left my clavicle exposed. I gave Laurie my digital camera so she could document the pin removal. She did a great job snapping all kinds of photos. Dr. Lamey cleaned the area with iodine; he said he was giving me a tan. He then put a drape over the area, because he said the bursa sac would burst when he slit it open. He used a needle and injected the area with local anesthesia. He took a while injecting the anesthesia so it wouldn’t hurt. He let it deaden for a bit. Then he sliced the bump open and fluid poured out. Then he got the sterilized screwdriver to back the pin out. He started backing the pin out, and then he used what sounded like a socket wrench. The first few turns were the hardest. I didn’t have any pain. I only felt pressure in the bone. It took a while to back the pin out. Dr. Lamey said, “I guess you want this as a souvenir?” I told him that I did want to keep the pin. Laurie cleaned up the pin for me to take home. Dr. Lamey put two stitches in the incision. The whole process was painless and rather quick. Dr. Lamey then told me not to crash for at least two weeks so the bone could fill in. Dr. Lamey did an excellent job and I have been so pleased with the results.