Joe P
Don't be worried i'm sorry. My collapse wasn't noticed till about 3-4 months after and they did not use the plate.Now they have to go in drill out the old bone replace that and put a plate in. I feel they rushed me out of the collar.My first surgery went great and i had the hard one on over 3 months this time it was just under 2 months ,neither with a plate and yes i am a smoker which they are blaming for the non-union.They now realize it never healed and my bones are just sitting there rubbing together causing all my pain(well most of it)I have great docs but this time i feel they just dropped the ball in my care,my tens unit was helping for a while but now it has gotten worse than before surgery. To me it sounds like you recieved the perfect treatment,i really believe this could have been avoided with the plate so we shall see.I'm having my next surgery sometime in the beginning of july. As far as the person with multiple fractures,good luck you should ask about Radio Frequency Lesioning for the pain because people who respond to the tens usually get a lot of relief from RFL if anyone would like to keep in touch be e-mail feel free to contact me. Good luck all. Joe