As Deborah Dohnal felt herself falling, she instinctively pulled her hands in to protect previously fractured wrists and instead landed with full force on her left elbow.
The fluke fall happened fast, but left the 67-year-old Chicago woman with a severely fractured elbow, the joint in multiple pieces that required meticulous surgical repair.
“I tried to push up on the arm not realizing I had broken it,” said Dohnal. “It was just hanging there and I couldn’t move it.” Dohnal and her husband were visiting family at the time of the accident and she was rushed to the nearest hospital where her arm was immobilized.
Home the next day, they visited a surgeon at Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital, who immediately referred them to James Dieterich, MD, a fellowship-trained hand and upper extremity surgeon.
“I really didn’t have any idea just how bad it was,” recalled Dohnal, who felt immediately fortunate to be connected with an expert. “Dr. Dieterich was very kind and assured us he was going to take care of me.”
After ordering new X-rays to confirm the fracture, and a CAT scan for 3D modeling to show the exact positioning to help develop a plan to reconstruct the shattered joint, Dr. Dieterich knew that the surgery would be far more complicated than a typical elbow fracture. Dohnal’s complex fracture-dislocation of her elbow was far from a common injury.
In surgery, one of the first things he had to do was isolate the ulnar nerve, carefully dissecting it so that the joint could be safely accessed. From here, he worked to meticulously piece the joint back together using screws and wires before finally placing a plate on top to protect the entire elbow.
After fixing her fracture, Dr Dieterich noticed she had an unusual ligament injury, which he repaired using a special type of suture anchor to ensure the best outcome for Dohnal.
“Fortunately, it all came together really well, and she has even exceeded our expectations,” said Dr. Dieterich. “She had an outstanding result following an awful injury.”
Dohnal spent weeks after surgery with her arm immobilized in a large brace where she could only move her fingers. She was diligent about physical therapy, doing her exercises as prescribed, and by 12 weeks had gained full mobility, impressing her entire care team.
“They were really surprised at how well I could move,” Dohnal said. “I know I was fortunate to have a fantastic surgeon and I was determined to do whatever I could to improve my recovery.”
She had high praise for occupational therapist Vivian Bernal, OTR/L, CLT, and Dr. Dieterich credits Dohnal’s amazingly positive attitude and hard work in physical therapy with contributing to her impressive recovery.
While the exercises left her with some soreness, Dohnal said she never had a lot of pain and feels incredibly grateful to be back to her full slate of activities, including watching her young grandchildren three days a week and learning to play golf.
“I’m so blessed to be able to do everything I did before the accident,” said Dohnal.
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