I had a ski accident and had a closed reduction of my right tibia in 1973. By 1986 or so, I was having extreme pain and swelling of my right ankle. I had many different opinions as to what was causing the pain. It was finally determined that the " not exact alignment "of the tibia fracture put pressure on my ankle joint over the years and the ankle deteriorated. I had 2 Arthroscopy surgeries to clean out the joint of broken bone fragments and was in a cast with no weight bearing each time for 6 months each. Every time I started to bear weight, the bones would break away again. I looked at alternatives to this painful problem. My choices were an ankle replacement, an ankle fusion or amputation. As a young mother of 4 children and working full time as a registered nurse, a replacement was out of the question. I was told by different specialists I was too young and replacements did not have a long lifespan. I opted for the fusion. Initially, in 1989, all but the sub talor joint was fused since that joint was not affected at this time and it would give me more balance. It was successful and eventually rendered me pain free. I had to learn lifestyle changes, like moving the gas and brake pedal on my car with an up and down motion instead of flexing my foot. I also spent too much money on orthopedic shoes since my leg was now slightly shorter than the left. None of them worked. I ended up buying a plastic orthotic heel support from a shoe catalog that lifted my foot just the right amount and could wear most any shoes. I also cannot wear any shoe without a back or a strap because you can't grip them to keep them on. In 2003, my subtalor joint failed me and I had to have it fused. I have to be very careful now because I do not have the balance I once had. I have had my share of falls because of it. Learn to go up and down stairs one at a time. I also learned to walk by hyper extending my right knee so as not to have a limp. I was successful at that and very few realized I had a fused ankle. Unfortunately, there are long term consequences to that as in 2007, I blew out my right knee from hyper-extending it and required a knee replacement. Would I make the decision again to fuse this very painful ankle? Yes, I would. That pain went away and allowed me many good years to walk, work and enjoy my family. Do I have a totally pain free ankle? No. There are times I have a shooting pain up into my ankle. Usually with rest and ice it goes away but yes, it is annoying. I wish you luck in your surgery and I pray you have good results also.
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I had a ski accident and had a closed reduction of my right tibia in 1973. By 1986 or so, I was having extreme pain and swelling of my right ankle. I had many different opinions as to what was causing the pain. It was finally determined that the " not exact alignment "of the tibia fracture put pressure on my ankle joint over the years and the ankle deteriorated. I had 2 Arthroscopy surgeries to clean out the joint of broken bone fragments and was in a cast with no weight bearing each time for 6 months each. Every time I started to bear weight, the bones would break away again. I looked at alternatives to this painful problem. My choices were an ankle replacement, an ankle fusion or amputation. As a young mother of 4 children and working full time as a registered nurse, a replacement was out of the question. I was told by different specialists I was too young and replacements did not have a long lifespan. I opted for the fusion. Initially, in 1989, all but the sub talor joint was fused since that joint was not affected at this time and it would give me more balance. It was successful and eventually rendered me pain free. I had to learn lifestyle changes, like moving the gas and brake pedal on my car with an up and down motion instead of flexing my foot. I also spent too much money on orthopedic shoes since my leg was now slightly shorter than the left. None of them worked. I ended up buying a plastic orthotic heel support from a shoe catalog that lifted my foot just the right amount and could wear most any shoes. I also cannot wear any shoe without a back or a strap because you can't grip them to keep them on. In 2003, my subtalor joint failed me and I had to have it fused. I have to be very careful now because I do not have the balance I once had. I have had my share of falls because of it. Learn to go up and down stairs one at a time. I also learned to walk by hyper extending my right knee so as not to have a limp. I was successful at that and very few realized I had a fused ankle. Unfortunately, there are long term consequences to that as in 2007, I blew out my right knee from hyper-extending it and required a knee replacement. Would I make the decision again to fuse this very painful ankle? Yes, I would. That pain went away and allowed me many good years to walk, work and enjoy my family. Do I have a totally pain free ankle? No. There are times I have a shooting pain up into my ankle. Usually with rest and ice it goes away but yes, it is annoying. I wish you luck in your surgery and I pray you have good results also.
September 25, 2017 - 12:53pmThis Comment
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