Not sure if I should have surgery after ulnar fracture Surgeons disagree

[transposon]

Male
Healthy
34 years old

2 weeks ago, I broke my left ulna after a fall while weightlifting. My arm struck the metal foot of the squat rack. A trip to the ER revealed a fracture in the distal 1/3 of the ulna.

I had a follow up with a surgeon two days later. After xrays he recommended that I have an open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) surgery performed. The bone was not terribly out of alignment, but he said that since I am young and healthy, the risks of surgery were worth getting all of my range of motion - pronation and supination, back.

A second opinion from another surgeon gave the same result.

A third surgeon recommended I not have the surgery. He determined that there is a 8 degree angle formed at the fracture and that the reduction in range of motion is an acceptable sacrifice to avoid surgery.

There is visible deformation in my forearm. It is skinnier where the fracture is. The xrays show the fracture site pushed toward the radius (in the direction of the trama).

I work a lot with my hands and do a fair amount of computer programming. I am also very active. I am worried about not gaining all of my ROM back without surgery, as it may effect my ability to make a living.

Any opinions on whether or not I should get the surgery? Are there long term issues, stiffness, arthritis that I may see down the road if I opt for surgery or no surgery?

Thank you.