Radial head prosthesis

A patient came in for a check up on their implant.

Patella dysplasia/ Patellectomy

This patient came in with left knee pain. They had a trauma at the age of 18 and had a near complete patellectomy.
The bits are multiple calcifications in the patellar region.
I got this information from the patients chart.

Bone on bone shoulder

Arthritis in a middle aged patient.

Foot surgery

The before and after xrays of a patient with multiple fractures in the foot. The patient had a log roll over their foot.

Learned something new!

I had to hold a patient for an xray and found that not only do I have a sesamoid bone in my thumb but also one in my pointer. Very neat! :)
I also have them in the backs of my knees too!

Navicular view

This was my attempt at a navicular view on a patient who needed to stay in the thumb spica cast.

Heel spur

I find these often in patients.

Antalgic gait

This patient came in with bilateral knee pain and antalgic gait. The patient was recommended for knee replacements.

Stress test

After a much needed week long vacation I am back to the real world. I haven't seen anything too interesting today.
Here is a stress test exam done on a young child. I believe the test was positive due to the differences in the gap between the lateral malleolus and the talus.
A stress view is when the doctor comes in and puts stress both joints (like ankles or fingers) in one at a time. This is to see if there is joint instability or ligament tears. They are also used when testing for non union fractures.
For ankle stress films the patient is supine with both legs outstretched. There is then pressure applied on the lateral aspect of the foot, adducting the heel and forcing the foot into a varus position. 


Source: boneandspine.com/musculoskeletal-radiology/understanding-stress-views-for-orthopaedics-xrays/

Diabetic foot

This patient came in for check up on their diabetic foot. I came in casted to below the knee with a window cut out of the medial side due to an ulcer. It was not fun unearthing the leg. As soon as I removed the window the ulcer stench hit my nose.
Thank goodness for gloves.
The first view is the AP shot. As you can see the foot is greatly deformed out to the lateral aspect. This could be due to neuropathuc arthropathy also known as "Charcot foot". That refers to the break joint of a weightbearing joint i.e. the ankle. This looked like one of the more severe cases.
The second view was a lateral attempt.
The patient stated that the leg itself was pretty numb so any pain wasn't noted.



Information found on the diabetic foot was found on wikipedia.

Thumb spur

Took an xray of this little thing today!
Patient complained of pain, swelling and redness over the knuckle.

PIP joint implants

I recently took an xray of a patient who was following up from having PIP joint implants done a while ago. This is just a close up for better detail. Note the 5th digit is turned due to mobility limitations.
The flexibility of the joints were some what limited but that's to be expected with this type of surgery. The thumb joint has a rod through it to immobilize it. Thumbs and pointers aren't likely candidates for the implants however the patient had her pointer finger PIP joint replace. The DIP joints aren't able to be replaced due to how fragile they are and instead are fused like the thumb. The fusions may limit mobility but provide relief for patients suffering from arthritis.
It was really interesting to see these implants for the first time so I did the research online to get a better understanding.
Information source: medicinenet.com/joint_replacement_surgery_of_the_hand/page4.htm

Post-op olecranon fracture

Here the patient is is 2 weeks out of an ORIF procedure. I took them out of the wrappings and splint but left the staples in. During the visit with the doctor they were removed.

Slow day.

Today has been pretty slow today so here is a picture of a shoulder implant taken today.
Hope everyone had a good weekend!

When I was an xray student...

I hated school. Everything about it was terrible to me. I hated the tests, projects, and homework. Everything. But I knew I had to go to college if I wanted to get a decent job. Ugh.

I chose to go into the medical field because of my father. Ever since I can remember I was spending birthdays and holidays in and out of the hospital due to his health as well as mine (pre diabetes). My dad had two heart attacks by the time I was a teenager and had open heart surgery under his belt. On top of that he had prostate cancer and was getting the seed therapy treatments. He was ALSO managing diabetes for the most part of his later life. All I knew of were hospitals.

One day after I had a blood test I was hanging out with my dad and that when he mentioned the future and what I could think about doing. He said 'nurse' and I curled up my nose at the thought. I care, but not that much. I would fall for a patient only to be crushed if they died. Then he said 'xray tech'. A light when off and from right then I knew what I wanted to be. I was going to be an xray tech.

There are currently only two school in Vermont that has a radiology program. One had a mile long wait list and the other was smaller and seemed better for one on one help. I only applied to that one school. I was accepted and began my life as a college freshman taking pre-requisites. While I loved anatomy and physiology, I struggled with even college algebra. That was only the start of my math woes.

Myself and 13 others were accepted into the radiology program at my college including a couple of my best friends. The number slowly dwindled down to 10 in the end due to overwhelming work and failing grades. One student quit after the first class after hearing our program director give her introduction speak. One sentence in my my still sticks to this day, 'For the next two years of your life you are mine.'

Before I knew it I was towards the end of my first semester of the program and failing my physics course. I was getting tutoring from other students as well as the teachers but I was still failing. I was heartbroken. But I stayed up quoting formulas and conversions and the properties of xrays. I'm a fighter.

At the end of one class my physics teacher handed me a little slip of paper with the number 84 circled. This was what I needed on my final to pass and continue with the program. I looked her right in the eyes and said 'I can do this.' I went home for Thanksgiving break with victory along the horizon.

Then my world came crashing down.

On Thanksgiving day at around 8 in the morning my father passed away from a heart attack.

There are moments in your life where you find yourself at complete ends with every little thing around you. My dad, my rock, my male role model who helped me walk and taught me so much about the world was gone... and never coming back. Never becomes a very permanent thing.

While I was wallowing in my heartbreak in the back of my mind was the oncoming pressure of my final exam. I needed to get the grade. I needed to do this for dad.

I came back to school after taking a week off to take care of buisness, completely missing review week. I took all of my other exams but saved the physics exam for two days after on my own.

I walked in that day with everything I could remember tattooed into my brain. I sat down and started writing only pausing to use my calculator. I handed in my test and felt the bile rise up into my throat. My teacher sat there running he pen down the answer sheet pausing at a couple of spots to mark a wrong answer with the red ink. Every check made my head feel lighter and lighter. Finally she said two words...

'You passed.'

The air left my lungs as I stood in front of her. The tears swam into my eyes and to my embarrassment I was crying in front of senior students taking tests. She got up and hugged me and said, 'you made him proud.' All I could do was nod and sniffle pathetically.  

In my whole life I never thought I was special or worth much but on that day I felt like the greatest person in the world. Even while I was drowning in an ocean of grief, I kept my head above the water.

Hello!

Welcome and many thanks to anyone reading this. Hang in there with me as this is my first official blog.

After finding such great blogs about xray techs that out of nowhere just stopped posting I decided to through myself into the blogging game.

My name is Kim. I live in Vermont and work at a great little orthopaedic clinic as the only tech. I'm lonely and want to talk shop with other techs.

I'll post ramblings and pictures of cool things I see at the clinic as well as random stuff because I'm pretty random.

The name xray lady comes from what all the little kids seem to like to call me when they get xrayed. I'm 23 so hearing them call me lady makes me feel old but it's still pretty cute.

Anyway! I hope this works and I get to know some cool people.
Thank you. :)

Here have some calcific tendonitis I shot this morning!