Hi, I found this site while doing a search on ankle fusions. I've read some wonderful posts, which have helped me greatly. My surgery was on May 15th & I was beginning to feel like I was a big baby for having so much pain when I walk.
Has anyone else had a fusion done with an external fixator? I first broke my ankle in January 1999. I missed one step at the bottom of our stairs & my ankle rolled under me. The orthopedic surgeon the ER referred me to wasn't very helpful. 7 months after the fracture I was still having alot of trouble. He actually told me he guessed he should have put a pin in it when I first broke it! I fell a second time a couple years later. I broke the same ankle, in a different location. Several months later I'm still in pain. By then my ankle was weak, giving out on me often. I was put through several rounds of physical therapy. I had several tests done, then was finally sent to the right doctor. He told me that the first fracture had spiraled & shredded the ligament. I had my first ligament repair surgery. That helped for almost a year. The same ligament tore off the bone & had to be repaired again. Over the course of time, I had many minor injuries.
Then in March I saw my doctor's new partner. He advised the ankle fusion & told me to look it up. I did & decided to go ahead with it. Due to my history, he used the external fixator. I was in that for 11 weeks. When he removed that (in the OR) I was in a non-weight bearing cast for 3 weeks.
I've been in the ortho boot for 2 weeks. I honestly thought I'd only need the crutches for a few days. I'm just now able to get around with one crutch, but it's very painful. I see the doctor next week. He'd said there was a chance I wouldn't need the boot by then, but that scares me.
If anyone else has had this type of ankle fusion, I'd love to hear your stories & how you're doing!