I have a scar from my breastbone around curving up my back, tracing the route of a rib. When I was 12 I had heart surgery, and that's how they did it back then.

My new doctor was amazed - said I'm a walking museum. That technique lasted just a couple of years before they turned to poking holes and putting cameras and instruments through the holes.

I guess most of medicine seems pretty primitive to what we had even a few years back!

My father had a relatively similar tibia injury in the 70s that predated the plate installations and his tibia is not quite straight and took about 6 months to heal in a hip-height cast. I ran a 7 minute mile 3 months to the day after my injury.