When I was 16 I was diagnosed with tarsal coalition, which was causing subtalar joint arthritis and I was scheduled for surgery, however for various reasons I cancelled my appointment and now 11 years later after years of pain after prolonged periods of standing or exercise I decided to go for the surgery. However now the option of excision wasn't available and I had to go for subtalar fusion.
01.07.14 I went in for the surgery in London and discharged the next day, I was put in a backslab plaster cast and the surgeon used one screw and artificial bone chips. The screw is just placed above my heel bone, countersunk in the bone and a 2" incision on the outer side of my right foot.
Day 1-9 I was in a backslab plaster cast, and mostly laid down on a sofa with high elevation. Foot Above the nose.
I pushed my luck and hopped around a lot and I could feel wetness in my cast, I got worried and booked an emergency appt, they opened the cast up and it was just sweat, very neat incision.
At this point my toes kept going deep purple, blue even if my foot was down for 1 minute. Really made me panic but my dr mate and hospital confirmed this is normal and as long as the cast isn't too tight then it will resolve by itself in few months. Exactly months.
The lady decided to pull the stitches and put me in a fixed fiberglass cast. For further 4 weeks. By the way if your foot gets hot in the cast wrap cling film around the cast make a cut and stick your Hoover in it, it will suck air through the cast and cool your foot helps an itchy foot.
Life on crutches is very difficult, so I bought a iwalk 2.0 knee crutch, ( that's a whole review by itself) for indoor use, went to british Red Cross and hired a wheelchair with leg elevator. So at least I wasn't house bound any longer.
The next 4 weeks was so longggggggg, time seems to be frozen. At 6 weeks I had my review appt and xray, the xray to me looked like it hadn't fused at all. I could see a gap , but the consultant said everything was fine but I must stay non weight bearing for further 6 weeks, I was totally shocked because all their leaflets say you can become partial weight bearing at 6 weeks.
But at least I m in a removable cast, at first very strange to have it on but then when you wash your feet it feels amazing . Plus I can massage my foot. My muscles have completely atrophied.
At this point I went on holiday and I discovered I could swim in Aircast boot if I take the foam out. Although walking on the beach non weight bearing with crutches isn't for the faint hearted. Vacoped cast is also similar but u can swim with the whole thing on. I v bought one but it's not really as comfortable as my aircast. It's mostly designed for a chillies tendon ruptures.
Before you fly go in and get the cast split in half to allow for increased swelling.
So the next 2 weeks went pretty quick .
Now 9 weeks in, I m still non weight bearing but I m going back to work , seated, to make the next 4 weeks go a bit quicker. I v read so many horror stories about non fusion and second ops, but I m trying to stay positive. These forums are really useful.
If you are planning to have this surgery make sure u plan to take at least around 4 months off, buy a waterproof cast cover, a knee walker or roller, hire a wheelchair, first few weeks have a carer. 12 weeks non wight bearing is so much harder than I expected hence I have time to write this long post :)
I hope this post helps you and good luck with your recovery
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Hi, just wanted to share my experience
When I was 16 I was diagnosed with tarsal coalition, which was causing subtalar joint arthritis and I was scheduled for surgery, however for various reasons I cancelled my appointment and now 11 years later after years of pain after prolonged periods of standing or exercise I decided to go for the surgery. However now the option of excision wasn't available and I had to go for subtalar fusion.
01.07.14 I went in for the surgery in London and discharged the next day, I was put in a backslab plaster cast and the surgeon used one screw and artificial bone chips. The screw is just placed above my heel bone, countersunk in the bone and a 2" incision on the outer side of my right foot.
Day 1-9 I was in a backslab plaster cast, and mostly laid down on a sofa with high elevation. Foot Above the nose.
I pushed my luck and hopped around a lot and I could feel wetness in my cast, I got worried and booked an emergency appt, they opened the cast up and it was just sweat, very neat incision.
At this point my toes kept going deep purple, blue even if my foot was down for 1 minute. Really made me panic but my dr mate and hospital confirmed this is normal and as long as the cast isn't too tight then it will resolve by itself in few months. Exactly months.
The lady decided to pull the stitches and put me in a fixed fiberglass cast. For further 4 weeks. By the way if your foot gets hot in the cast wrap cling film around the cast make a cut and stick your Hoover in it, it will suck air through the cast and cool your foot helps an itchy foot.
Life on crutches is very difficult, so I bought a iwalk 2.0 knee crutch, ( that's a whole review by itself) for indoor use, went to british Red Cross and hired a wheelchair with leg elevator. So at least I wasn't house bound any longer.
The next 4 weeks was so longggggggg, time seems to be frozen. At 6 weeks I had my review appt and xray, the xray to me looked like it hadn't fused at all. I could see a gap , but the consultant said everything was fine but I must stay non weight bearing for further 6 weeks, I was totally shocked because all their leaflets say you can become partial weight bearing at 6 weeks.
But at least I m in a removable cast, at first very strange to have it on but then when you wash your feet it feels amazing . Plus I can massage my foot. My muscles have completely atrophied.
At this point I went on holiday and I discovered I could swim in Aircast boot if I take the foam out. Although walking on the beach non weight bearing with crutches isn't for the faint hearted. Vacoped cast is also similar but u can swim with the whole thing on. I v bought one but it's not really as comfortable as my aircast. It's mostly designed for a chillies tendon ruptures.
Before you fly go in and get the cast split in half to allow for increased swelling.
So the next 2 weeks went pretty quick .
Now 9 weeks in, I m still non weight bearing but I m going back to work , seated, to make the next 4 weeks go a bit quicker. I v read so many horror stories about non fusion and second ops, but I m trying to stay positive. These forums are really useful.
If you are planning to have this surgery make sure u plan to take at least around 4 months off, buy a waterproof cast cover, a knee walker or roller, hire a wheelchair, first few weeks have a carer. 12 weeks non wight bearing is so much harder than I expected hence I have time to write this long post :)
I hope this post helps you and good luck with your recovery
August 29, 2014 - 5:33amThis Comment
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