In the last ten years I’ve had surgery eight times on my right ankle. Most of them were ligament reconstructions and finally a complete ankle fusion. Making the decision to fuse my ankle was one of the toughest decisions I’ve had to make but with the chronic pain, instability, degenerative arthritis and inflammation I agreed. It’s going to be two years this June and although it’s been a very long recovery and endless hours of physical therapy I can say I’m feeling good about it. One of the biggest challenges is finding shoes that help me walk. With an ankle fusion you have no range of motion so I need orthopedic shoes to help me out. I wear a pair of MBTs but would like to find something different that still provides the support I need, any suggestions? I’d love to hear your story and how you are dealing with the ankle fusion -- was it the right decision for you?
~Gimpy
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Crutchgirl....In not knowing where you are located, I would say please get a second opinion. My 16 year old daughter just had ankle surgery in June for OCD of the Talus at UAB - Highlands Medical with Dr. Kirchner. We had for years been told her ankle pain was "just growing pains". He was our third opinion...the first one wanted to break her ankle and cut a bone from her knee to replace the dead bone they would dig out form her ankle...not! Dr. Kirchner did an absolutely wonderful job for my daughter, no breaking, digging, or cutting bones from other areas.
August 4, 2012 - 10:58pmThis Comment
My ankle fusion was done Dec. 14, 2010. The original break was 20 yrs ago and haven't had a pain free day since. My local hospital recommended the original surgeon who did the fusion. I have since found out that my fusion was only the 4th fusion he had ever done. During my last office visit I was informed that he would no longer be seeing patients. He has been force to retire.
December 26, 2011 - 9:51amI now have a new surgeon who specializes in ankle fusions, this is all he does. Last week he took the screws out and found 2 of the 6 broken. How could they break? Next month I will have my ankle refused and a rod put up my leg because the first surgeon cut rhe bones and left them to thin to work with. I am told that I will have no movement in my foot at all and will have difficulty walking. I am so disgusted and disappointed with this. Enough of my complaining. Think I just need to vent.
Janiceb
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My ankle fusion was done Dec. 14, 2010. The original break was 20 yrs ago and haven't had a pain free day since. My local hospital recommended the original surgeon who did the fusion. I have since found out that my fusion was only the 4th fusion he had ever done. During my last office visit I was informed that he would no longer be seeing patients. He has been force to retire.
December 26, 2011 - 9:44amI now have a new surgeon who specializes in ankle fusions, this is all he does
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Hi I am 24 years old when I was 16years old I broke my ankle and had pins and plates put in and then 7 months later I had thhem taken out b/c I broke my pin that was holding my ankle to my tibia and fibula together. I then went in for a bone graph becuase my holes didn't heal and then again For a nerve that was dead. my ankle is deformned looking and the arthritis is killing me. The inside of my ankle comes out 2 inches past were it should be and my skin is stretched to the max. I don't know if I should see a doctor about it or not. Does this sound familiar to anyone who has had ankle fusion?
July 25, 2011 - 8:47pmThis Comment
I am 13 and having an operation done tomorrow.
June 19, 2011 - 6:48pmThis Comment
Hi Anon,
May 2, 2011 - 12:35pmThanks for the tip on the shoes, I'm gonna have to check them out. Just bought myself a pair of those shape-up sandals. So far so good, but those fitflops sound interesting.
Thanks again for sharing this with us! If you have any other tips - we'd love to hear them!!
Ang
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Try Fitflops shoes (they lace up and sort of look like bowling shoes).
April 13, 2011 - 7:03amThey come in red, black, cream (silver and gold too). Zappos carries them... Bilat ankle fusion done in 1974 so I understand how hard it is to find shoes!
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Hi iammare,
March 18, 2011 - 11:10amSorry your going through all this and still in pain. With my ankle fusion it took me almost a year before everything started to feel 'normal' again. But my doctor did tell me that it would take me a year to recover. My ankle seemed swollen for a long time as well and even now if I stand or walk to long it flares up. I know physical therapy and massaging the area over the scars and swelling helped me a lot. My physical therapist said if I massaged the scar and swollen areas that would help the blood flow and scar tissue. Not sure if it's something that could help you - ask you doctor and see what she has to say. Another thing to try is to ice and elevate your foot at the end of the day, again something else that helped me as well.
If things don't seem to get better soon, I'd take the doctor up on the CT Scan just to be sure. Like you said this isn't something to be taken lightly. Are you going to physical therapy?
Hope you get to feeling better soon. Keep us posted and let us know how you are doing.
Take care,
Ang
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Hello all - I'm new to posting here, and have a few questions. I underwent my 1st surgery 2/24/09 for PTTD - did a transfer, as well as put in a subtalar implant. 3 days post-op, I had a lot of discomfort at the implant site, and wanted it out. It didn't feel right, and my Dr. didn't believe me. I finally convinced him to take it out, but that wasn't until 8/6/09. It felt better after that, but I still had the same pain I went to him with initially. (First Dr. is a Podiatrist)
I changed Dr.s in 1/14/10, this time to an Ortho. She took one look at my x-Rays, MRIs, and everything else, and said that the transfer didn't look right, and started talking about fusion, but wanted to try bracing it 1st. I spent the next 2 weeks in a walking cast, then 6 weeks in an air-cast boot, then 6 months in an Arizona AFO... THEN I had the fusion, she redid the transfer, as well as a Tal Gastrocnemius Recession.
Now I'm the "proud owner" of a 7" scar on the interior of my foot/ankle, several 1" on the exterior, and a 2" on my calf. (www.go2warp.com/mare) Here are some actual pics 10 days post op.
My questions are, with all this going on, how long can I expect swelling? At the end of the night I'm still softball or larger size, and it keeps getting worse. My hubby has to take my shoe off for me because I can't. Also, how long should there be pain? Not a lot of pain, but enough to be uncomfortable, and a constant reminder that something isn't right. The pain gets worse through out the day as well.
My current Dr. wants me to go for a CT scan, but she came right out and said she doesn't think it's going to show her anything. So why go? Also, she's concerned about the swelling and pain, but since I've only been back to work and really driving (more than trips to the store) for about 1 month, she thinks it may be that. I'm just worried, because I'm pushing 6 months post-op.
Sorry this is so long and drawn out, but, as I'm sure most of you know, this isn't something to be taken lightly, and I'm starting to really worry.
Thanks all!
March 14, 2011 - 2:17pm-Mare
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I'VE HAD ANKLE PROBLEMS FOR 12 YEARS NOW. I FOUND OUT IN 2006 I HAD TORN MY LIGAMENTS IN MY RIGHT ANKLE MY SURGEON SAID I WOULD BENEFIT FROM HAVING A LIGAMENT RECONSTRUCTION. SO IN AUGUST 2007 I HAD A RIGHT LATERAL LIGAMENT RECONSTRUCTION DONE ON MY RIGHT ANKLE THIS WAS MY FIRST OPERATION AT FIRST MY RECOVERY WAS GOING GOOD THEN IN FEB 2008 MY PHYSIO FOUND A LUMP IN MY SCAR. WHEN I WENT BACK TO MY SURGEON HE TOLD ME THAT THE SUTURES THEY USED TO REPAIR MY LIGAMENTS WERE COMING LOOSE SO HE WOULD HAVE TO REMOVE THEM SO IN AUG 2008 I HAD A SECOND OPERATION TO REMOVE THE SUTURES FROM MY RIGHT ANKLE. THREE WEEKS AFTER THIS OPERATION I DEVELOPED A TREMOR IN MY RIGHT LEG EVERYTIME I PUT WEIGHT THROUGH MY RIGHT LEG MY LEG WOULD TREMOR I CAN ONLY STAND ON MY LEFT LEG AS IF I STAND ON MY RIGHT LEG AT ALL IT TREMORS. THEN IN AUGUST 2009 THEY FOUND ANOTHER LUMP IN MY SCAR AND I ENDED UP HAVING A THIRD OPERATION TO REMOVE ANOTHER SUTURE AND SCAR TISSUE FROM MY EXISTING SCAR. I STILL HAVE THE TREMOR & THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT IS CAUSING IT, I HAVE HAD FOUR PHYSIO'S & HAD 50 SESSIONS OF PHYSIO IN THE LAST 3 YEARS WITH NO IMPROVEMENT. I HAVE NO HEEL TO TOE ACTION WHEN WALKING THERE'S NO STRENGTH IN THE FOOT OR ANKLE I HAVE HARDLY ANY MOVEMENT IN MY ANKLE AT ALL I HAVE TO WALK WITH CRUTCHES & WEAR AN ANKLE BRACE AS MY ANKLE STILL GIVES OUT EVEN THOUGH I HAVE HAD MY LIGAMENTS REPAIRED. I HAVE A BAD LIMP IF I WALK WITHOUT CRUTCHES AND BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN LIMPING FOR SO LONG MY PELVIS HAS NOW TILTED. I'M IN A GREAT DEAL OF PAIN WITH MY ANKLE AND PELVIS EVERYDAY HAVE BEEN FOR THE LAST 3 YEARS NEARLY 4 I CAN'T EVEN DO NORMAL DAILY TASKS CAUSE OF MY MOBILITY PROBLEMS I HAVE BEEN ON THE SICK FROM MY JOB FOR A YEAR & FIVE MONTHS AS I CAN'T COPE WITH THE PAIN I'M IN. IVE HAD PAIN INJECTIONS, PAIN PATCHES AND LOTS OF DIFFERENT PAIN MEDICATIONS WITHOUT ANY OF THEM WORKING. MY LAST SCAN ON MY ANKLE SHOWED THAT I HAVE LOST MOST OF THE CARTILAGE IN THE JOINT, MY ANTERIOR TALOFIBULAR LIGAMENT IS VERY THIN, I HAVE BONE DEGENERATION AT THE BOTTOM END OF MY TIBIA BONE & I HAVE A BONE SPUR AT THE BOTTOM END OF MY TIBIA BONE. MY SURGEON HAS DISCHARGED ME SAYING THERE IS NOTHING ELSE HE CAN DO FOR ME. I'M ONLY 26 & I'M FED UP OF BEING IN AGONISING PAIN EVERYDAY THEY DON'T SEEM TO CARE THAT I'VE BEEN IN AGONISING PAIN FOR THE LAST 3 YEARS NEARLY FOR BEFORE I HAD THE FIRST OPERATION MY ANKLE WAS CONSTANTLY SPRAINING MY SURGEON SAID IF I DIDN'T HAVE THE OPERATION TO REPAIR MY LIGAMENTS I WOULD END UP BREAKING MY ANKLE & I WOULD BE WORSE OFF BUT BEFORE THE OPERATION I WAS MOBILE NOW I'M BASICALLY DISABLED I'M SO DESPERATE ILL TRY ANYTHING.
January 24, 2011 - 6:34pmI'M CONSIDERING ASKING IF I CAN HAVE MY ANKLE FUSED I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK OR WHETHER YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS ANY COMMENTS WELCOME THANK YOU GEMMA.
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