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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So many years of pain! You were fortunate to have that doctor come into your life. In 1967 (when I had my fusion) there was no one to go to other than the local orthopedic surgeon. But I'm sure mine did what he could at the time.
September 26, 2015 - 7:59amI'm glad you shared your story, Janet. It may help the younger patients.
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My name is James Jones
September 24, 2015 - 10:20pmI had a total ankle and wrist fusion in 2009.
About the ankle, I am now having problems with my hip and syatic. Have had to see a chiropractor for a bulging disc. This is 2015.
My knee has given me problems since 2011. My suggestion to anyone going through this is to really consider any other options.
My best wishes to all of you going through this.
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yes, I had a total fusion in 09, no more pain after that but it gradually led to awful pain in my "good" thigh and I'm now recuperating from a hip replacement. Never ends. I really would appreciate help finding shoes that would allow me to walk more easily. MBT are scary in terms of balance, other suggestions? have Hokas, dont do much
February 4, 2018 - 5:19pmThis Comment
I had a ankle fusion in dec of 2014. By far and away the best rocker shoe I found was the Walk Company Abeo brand - again very expensive but sooooo worth it! A friend who also had a fusion and works on her feet all day told me about them. I walked in with my sketchers and left with the Abeos on my feet. The difference was night and day!
September 11, 2015 - 10:27amThis Comment
Hello,
September 3, 2015 - 10:07amI have had 4 different surgeries on my left foot/ankle. One of them was a Resection on the Subtlar
joint in the hind foot. I had to have this because I had a tarsal coalition from birth on this foot. It was symptomatic when I was playing sports as teenager and they would tape my foot before the games and I then had orthotics made for me. As I grew older and I have worked on concrete for 27 years and I had to lift a lot of weight each day, this joint broke down with degenerative arthritis and the doctor suggested a partial fusion. At this point I was in so much pain and I had to miss many days of work just to Rest, Ice and Elevate. I ended up having a partial fusion on this joint.
I have trouble with it ever since. They ended up having to take out the huge screw that fused the joint because it was making its way out. Pain, Pain and more pain. Instability and not being able to wear many different shoes and fact only two different pairs have I found. This last surgery they had to repair torn tendons and they did a release of the achilles tendon and smoothed off a bone spur. From this surgery now I have developed what is called RSD. A pain syndrome that causes my foot and Ankle to stay red and a burning pain constantly. I have not been able to work for a year now and the doctors don't seem to know enough about it. If anyone has any knowledge to share I would appreciate it. I have found a good pair of athletic shoes that work for me and give me more
stability. They are New Balance and they have Roll Bar technology for people with bad ankles, it doesn't allow your foot to flex as much. With tax they were about $179.00 but they were worth it.
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I completely understand how frustrating it is that Dr's don't know much about the RSD. Mine was the result of the 2nd operation on my right ankle after a car accident. I tried literally every single pain medication and nothing would really help with that pain. I was in and out of hospitals for the first year just to try and get my pain to a level where it was tolerable-- Going to the hospitals was an issue in itself because most ER doctors don't know what RSD is even!! and gave me a hard time because they couldn't understand why a female who is 27 years old not just Post-OP needs IV medication. I was labeled an addict before they even had a chance to even speak with my Pain Management Dr who was aware of my pain situation. Needless to say, I was absolutely miserable until after months of research, I found out Ketamine Infusions help with RSD pain. There are a few clinics which offer the procedure, I myself initially went to Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick at the RSD institute in Tampa. His protocol is 5 days of infusions each one lasts between 4-6 hours. After the 5 days I was 99% pain free. Lasted approximately 2 months but that was due to the fact that I re-injured my ankle! After A LOT more research I found a doctor locally in NYC Dr. Brooks who is an Anesthesiologist he does the Ketamine Infusions in office and he is extremely reasonable with his pricing (neither doctor accepts insurance, you can submit for reimbursement) Recently after moving to FL, I had to have another surgery which makes it #4- for an ankle fusion. RSD pain was back, terrible flareup after surgery- As soon as I was able to somewhat ambulate I booked a flight to NY to see Dr. Brooks. This was in May 2015 and I am still 99.9% pain free today! I hope this helps
September 21, 2015 - 11:07amThis Comment
Glad to know I'm not alone
August 19, 2015 - 8:36amI had ankle infusion December 2013 and since March of 2014 I've been looking for a shoe and not a sneak to wear it's been very hard after the surgery I gave away over 100 pair shoes now I only one pair new balance sneakers and had to have a rockerbottom added to the sneaker not cute at all and very expensive and not covered by insurance so if anyone know of where I can get some other good support shoes please let me know
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Hi , I also have ankle fusion and wear New Balance sneakers every day . I have to get them modified as well and yes not covered ! So I needed a good black pair of shoes for events or weddings . It's very hard . I did get just black sneakers but then I found nice shoes 4E width and adjustable strap . No heel of course . They are Propet Preferred online , they were about 80.00 . I did not get them modified and found they were fine for events . Everyday then maybe you have to modify. Hope that helps .
January 15, 2016 - 1:57pmThis Comment
Try Amazon, I just bought some rocker bottom shoes on there. A black and a brown pair of rocker bottom Mary Jane type shoes and some tennis shoes. Ryka is an expensive brand but I found them reasonable on Amazon and sketchers has some rocker bottoms on their web site and on Amazon.
August 19, 2015 - 8:58amThis Comment
I said that I would tell you about what my doctor had to say about ankle replacement after fusion. He said that a lot of doctors are changing their opinions about ankle fusions because of the damage that eventually happens to the rest of the foot. He has done 19 surgeries to un-fuse and "replace" ankles. He said that most turned out well. Some did not (I neglected to get the exact number) and had to be re-fused. In my case he will infuse my ankle, fuse the bones under my ankle and then insert the replacement. It's a big gamble but I'm willing to take it to relieve the pain I have now. The big downside is that ankle replacements at this time last 5-8 years. I'm hoping to get this done before the end of the year so I will post how it goes since I know we all are looking for answers.
July 30, 2015 - 2:17pmThis Comment