My dd had surgery this morning and it wasn't successful

She broke both elbows in November and the doctor she treated with did not think she needed surgery, he felt they would heal on their own. She did PT for 3 months and while her range of motion got back to normal, her strength remained significantly impaired. At the recommendation of her physical therapist, I took her for a second opinion a couple weeks ago where we learned that the bones had not healed at all and that surgery was the only option.  He said the surgery has a 95% success rate.  We knew something wasn't good when the surgery took twice as long as expected and unfortunately, when he tried to screw her bones back together, the detached bone crumbled.  He is not doing the second elbow for now until he sees what happens with the improvisation he did with the first one this morning. 

I feel so sad for her and like we failed her by not getting a second opinion in the first place.  The new surgeon would not say whether the months of the bone being detached contributed to its to deterioration but it certainly seems like it's probably related.  He does think she'll eventually be pain free and probably have a full range of motion again but the ability to lift or support weight is a complete unknown. Her flexibility and strength as an athlete has always been something that defines her - it's going to change her life in a major way. I know she's young and resilient but this has been a hard, emotional day.