I am two weeks post op from having the MBA implant and achilles tendon lengthening surgery for flat feet. I was put out with general anesthesia for my surgery (outpatient at hospital) and also had a local on the surgical site. I will be having my other foot done in November. I have been nonweight bearing for two weeks and have two more weeks to go. That had been the worst part because I truly am not talented on my crutches although I have improved greatly. I took a week off from work after the surgery (I had to lay in bed with ice and foot up for seven days) but am now back at work and doing well (I have a desk job.) I had my cast changed yesterday so I got to see my new arch for a few moments and it appeared that everything is healing great. My podiatrist that did the surgery has been great so far and has answered all of my questions etc.

I just wanted to add this post, because I didn't find alot of other posts on people having this surgery and I know that prior to having this surgery, I was eager to hear other people's experience. The last thing that I want to mention is up to this point the pain has been minimum (I did keep up on my paing meds the first three days because I was afraid that it would start hurting.) I am hoping the outcome is as postive!

Hope this helps anyone who is looking for an experience with this surgery.

Thank you for your post. I am 45 and have flatfeet. I have used orthotics and have been wearing a Ritchie Brace. I have had a triple fusion on my left foot about two years ago. I started having problems with my right foot. I ruptured the tendons in my foot due to my ankle rolling inward. About three weeks ago, I had the tendons repaired and an MBA implant placed. I was wondering if you have stepped down on your implant yet. How does in feel?

I have not stepped on it yet. I will get my cast off in 2 weeks from today. I am a little nervous, but am thinking positive thoughts.

I have a cast also. I will have it removed Oct. 21st. After that, I will have a walking cast. Today was my first day back to work. I tired fast and my ankle swelled. Who cares, it was good to get out of the house. Good luck!!!

Just an update. Tomorrow I have my hard cast and stitches removed. I am VERY excited. I will have a walking cast for another four weeks. I cannot wait to try out the implant. Let me know how you do. Do you have your cast removed this week?

I have my cast off on Monday (OCT. 24th). I could have had it off today, but my Dr. is on vacation this week, so I have to wait the extra weekend.

I already have seen my leg and had my stitches out, but than he put on another non-weight bearing cast (the one I get off on Monday). I am so excited to get it off, but am kind of scared of how it will feel to walk on it.

Back from the doctor. I had my cast off and stitches out. (I was very excited when I got there). He placed me in a boot. He said that he wants me to be NWB for another two weeks and then we will slowly place weight on it with crutches and then without. I was so depressed. I thought I was going to run out of there with a walking cast. He said that it was not the MBA implant that was slowing me down, it was the tendon and ligament (sp) repair. O-Well. I am having such a problem with my left foot (the one that is functioning right now). My ankle is giving out.

He did take my foot and simulate what it would feel like with the MBA Implant. It felt good. Like I had a normal foot. With that being said, I guess I can wait another two or three weeks. Let me know what it feels like for you.

I am sorry that things didn't go as anticipated. I know that two weeks seems like forever NWB. I can't wait to not have to use these awful crutches. I can manage at home, but it is hard at work. I work at a school that is really big, and by the time I get to my desk I am already wore out for the day!

I have my appt. on Monday so I will post and let you know how my appt. goes on Monday afternon if I get a chance.

Good luck. I am exited for you.!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was able to get my cast off today and am able to bear weight. The doctor told me to use my crutches as needed for the first week. At first, everything felt really ackward (this morning), but as the day has progressed, I am getting more use to it. I am using one crutch and everything feels stiff, but there isn't really alot of pain. I am excited at how well everything is going. Keep me posted on your recovery and let me know if you have any specific questions.

YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so happy for you. You know, when I woke up this morning, I feel pain with my implant. I don't know if I twisted it in my sleep. Let me know how you do tomorrow. Can you feel the implant when you walk? How long were you NWB?

wtwct,
I had tendon surgery for my ankles twice within the past year and the tendons take awhile to heal. It takes time to get the movement and strength back. Good Luck.

I know. They want me to use a wheel chair and stay off my left foot. My ankle is killing me. It is snapping and crackling. Probably because all my weight is on the left.

Day two is going okay. I am kind of sore and I noticed I was really tired last night. There are certain times (like if you move a certain way) that it hurts worse than others. All in all, I wouldn't really say there is alot of pain. It is more of an ache from not using my foot for so long, and there is alot of tightness. I don't mean to sound like it doesn't hurt at all, because it does, but not the horrible pain that I was afraid of. As I use it more, I can feel it getting a little easier to move so I consider it to be all good.

I can definitly feel that there is something different in my ankle where the implant is. I think it is going to get time to get use to. Sometimes when I am walking, it becomes really noticable.

In total, I was NWB for 4 1/2 weeks.

I am sorry to hear that you have run into trouble. I know that when I had my cast on, If I would move in the night just right, my ankle would hurt, but mine always went away. The pain didn't stay.

Hang in there.

How is the implant? I go back to the Dr. next Thursday, he said I will be partial weight bearing with crutches. I am not sure what that means. When you had your tendons and ligaments reconstructed, did you feel like they were pulling? Sometimes when I straighten my leg, it feels like I am tearing something. Maybe because they are attached and in the correct place. Don't know. That is one of the questions on my list of questions to the Dr.

Everything is going really well for me. I can definitly tell the difference that the MBA implant makes (especially in comparison to the one that isn't done yet.) It is still can get sore and I still have swelling (especially when I get home at night.)

As far as tendons and ligaments go, I only had my achilles tendon lengthened. It felt very tight and I also had the sensation that I was pulling something (especially after the cast came off). After walking (and its been a week and a 1/2) it feels much more loose. It still feels like it is really stretching, but it is 100% better. I have been doing the exercises that I am suppose to do, and I think that helps.

I hope everything goes well for you at your Doctor's appt. Let me know how it goes.

After all is said and done, I do think that I will have a positive outcome also. I think when I get tired, I get a little negative. I will let you know how it goes. I started to do floor exercises for my legs. I want to be ready when the walking day arrives. I am very happy for you and I am glad you are feeling better. I will let you know how Thursday goes.

Tomorrow is the big day. I go to the doctor in the afternoon. I will see if I can weight bear. I tried today (I figured "what's one day") It was a little painful. I will let you know how it goes. I am going to ask him for a prescription for Physical Therapy. I think I need a jump start.

Good Luck, wtwct! Go slow...slow but steady wins the race!

Good luck at your appt. I hope everything goes well.

Went to the Dr. yesterday. He said how are you doing? I said "Ready to Walk". We took an x-ray of my right foot and left foot. The right foot (with the MBA Implant) looked very good. He let me stand on it. Wow, I cannot believe how normal it looks, it does not roll in at all. He tried to move it and it was very painful. He said that is going to happen since I have been NWB for eight weeks. He gave me a prescription for physical therapy. I start next week. I am still wearing the boot.

Now for my left foot. I told him that after I got out of the tub last week, I heard a "clunk" then I seemed shorter (If that could possibly happen). He looked at the x-ray and the outside of my ankle collapsed, I don't know if he said the tibia or fibia, the lumpy bone on the outside of your ankle. He said that I am going to need an ankle replacement soon or he could fuse it. We are going to wait until I am very strong in my MBA Foot and leg. I am going to wait until I cannot possibly walk on it any more.

So that the the good news and the bad news. More good news is that I can ride a stationary bike. I am going to the gym tomorrow morning. I will probably make only three min. It's a start. You always have to start at the bottom and work your way up. I will go slow but sure. This is the only way to get better.

By the way, how is your implant kbest? I told the doctor that I have been talking to people with several types of foot problems. He said "where do you meet these people?" I said on the internet.

He then told me a story of a nurse that had bilateral MBA Implants. She had them done six months apart. He said that she is walking very well. She did get use to titanium in her subtalar joints. He said she can hardly tell they are there. So, that is good news since she is on her feet all day.

Why did you have to have the surgery in the first place,,,,what were your symptoms?

Hello WTWCT-

I am glad to hear about your MBA implant leg is doing better. I am sure the therapy is going to make a big difference. I can't believe how awesome I feel compared to three and 1/2 weeks ago when I got my cast off. You will get there. I hope your other ankle thing goes okay.

I have my next implant and tendon lengthening on my other foot on Thursday (11/17). I am really excited to have this all over with and I love the results from my first surgery, but I am really dreading the recovery period going into this surgery. Hopefully everything goes as well as it did the last time and I can be off them in a 4 weeks (he said 4-6 weeks again) like I was the last time!

Have a great day!

That's great. I am glad to hear that it gets better and better. Do you feel that you are able to support all of your weight on the MBA (I mean when you have the second one done?

My symptoms were severe flat feet. My foot rolled in and my ankle almost touched the ground. I have the left foot triple fused. I also need an ankle replacement on the left. On the right foot, my ankle rolled in and my leg, knee and back were killing me. I ruptured the tendons and ligaments on the right. We decided to do the MBA Implant instead of fusing it. I really like the MBA Implant. I cannot believe what a difference it makes. I think it will be better after physical therapy. I was NWB for eight weeks.

Back again. How did the second implant go? I had my second PT appointment yesterday. I am learning how to WB. I think there is a lot of pain with this implant. Today is the first day that I put on a shoe and took off the boot. It burns. I know that this will go away because of what you said about three 1/2 weeks. I was so sick of sitting inside that this morning when everyone was in bed, I took the car keys and went to the car wash. It took me a while to hand wash it but, I did it. Drove the car home and everyone is still in bed. They woke up and said "what are we going to have for dinner?" who knows, who cares LOL. I am working on walking today, figure it out LOL. Any way, hope your second surgery went well.

By the way, there is a lady in PT that had an ankle replacement. She is 4 weeks out, and is working on movement of her ankle. She is not WB, just working on movement. I

I'm confused about how exactly they lengthen the tendon...if they can do that why couldn't they do the same thing to the plantar fascia? How exactly do they do it?

My second surgery went well (as far as I know.) I go to the doctor on Wednesday to get my stitches out and a new cast, and an x-ray.

Bearing full weight on my side that already has the implant was kind of hard at first, but is getting better. The one thing that I noticed is that previously when I was on crutches I was able to hop if I was in a small place where I couldn't get through on crutches. Now, I have to use the crutches no matter what, because hopping does not work out well. The other thing that I noticed is that my sense of balance was really horrible to begin with. This seems to be improving also as I hobble along.

kit kat- I do not know what is done for plantar fascia. To lengthen my achilles tendon, my podiatrist cut a 2 inch open incision to expose the achilles tendon. From my understanding, I think he than nicked the tendon in several places and stretched it to the desired length. After that, they sew you up and put you in a cast (to just below my knee) for 4 - 6 weeks to give the tendon time to heal (mine healed in 4 weeks last time and is what I am planning on this time {hopefully!}).

I know that some podiatrists don't do a full open procedure, but just nick the tendon through your skin. My podiatrist said that he does not do this with adults and wanted to be able to see exactly where and how far he was lengthening.

that makes sense to me. With pf it is the same problem, my doctor cut out 1/3 of the plantar fascia but it still is painful and now tarsal tunnel on top of it. I hope your pain is lessened by this surgery. Good luck and keep us posted. Its nice to hear when someone gets better......it gives me hope.

kbest.. did this procedure actually restore your arch?? Can you see and feel a difference?? I had a different procedure done about 2 1/2 years ago, and the results were OK, but not as good as I had hoped.

TPB-I have had flexible flatfeet (but painful) since childhood so it didn't technically restore an arch, but it did give me an arch. I can definitly tell the difference. Thus far I am really glad that I had the surgery.

I know from what I have read that it really depends on each individual situation in adults, whether or not your a candidate for the implant. I also had to have an additional procedure to my achilles tendon. From what I have read this is pretty common in adults to need extra procedures. I know the nice thing about the MBA implant is that they don't cut or move your bones around like in a fusion. It basically fills a space that is already available. Also, if you have problems down the road, the implant can be taken out.

Hope this answered your questions. I am not that far into it, but so far I am really happy with the results.

Glad to hear that your second surgery went well. I am still in physical therapy. I am still not walking. I am able to stand on it but I am not doing one foot in front of the other yet. It is burning bad. Not as bad as when I first started with the weight. I saw a physical therapist from the University of IL. She filled in for my PT as he was on vacation. She said that it takes a while with adults. You either can take off on it right a way or you need to work into it. I guess I have to work into it.

Yesterday I picked up an orthotic from the Dr. office for the MBA foot. I don't know if I like it that much. It feels to agressive. I was hoping for something a little less agressive. He said that we could adjust the orthotic. I can tell you that when I stand, I do have an arch. My foot and ankle does not roll in. I feel like when I do take steps, I look like Frankenstein walking LOL.

How are you doing WTWTC? I don't really have anything new to report, as I am still in my cast. Just thought I would check and see how you are doing.

Well, hello again. Believe it or not, I am still not able to walk with the implant that well. It still burns. Morning is not a good time for me. I have to use the crutches to get around. My PT spoke to the doctor (my family doctor, as the nurse at the surgeons office said that the dr. does not take phone calls) (Whatever!!) My family doctor said that I should take some kind of pain medication as I do physical therapy, he thought that might help.

I have walked thru the house, not very long and not very far but, I have walked without the crutches. (Like Frankenstein) I don't know what it is about it, but it burns when I put weight on it (a lot). I have another appt. with the surgeon on December 12th. I want this to work!!! I don't know, maybe the implant is to big. I heard if they place to large of an implant, it might not work out from the pain. Any suggestions?

I think I am trying hard, I think I am a fighter, I usually do not give up. But, last week, I wanted to cry. I have been thru 7 previous surgeries and I have always walked (eventually) I am sure that I am being emotional and impatient. I have been working out on the total gym to make myself feel better; like I am doing something for myself. Here is another funny thing, since the surgery, I have lost 12 more pounds. I think it is from all the energy it takes to get around.

My wheel chair arrived last week. I think that was kind of depressing also. It is a nice one. It is a Kuschall, ultralight weight, pneumatic cambered (sp) wheels. I am going to take this to the concert Saturday night. I purchased tickets to Trans-Siberian Orchestra in September. I thought "I will be walking by then". I got 10th row, main floor. I will never be able to get down there and then be comfortable.
So--I got the gimp section. I will go in the chair. I told them I want a seat near the bar LOL Just kidding.

wtwct, I am feeling so bad for you right now!! All day, I have been feeling sorry for myself. I have felt trapped in the house. I hope you become accustomed to those implants. I have the opposite problem. My arch is (what I consider to be) too high!! I guess there are problems with both kinds of feet. We feel very alone with our problems, but I think you will agree that everyone here At least on these boards has sympathy for your pain. Am I making any sense?? Probably not, but I wanted to let you know that I feel for your pain and you are not alone!! You have been there for me and I AM THERE for you!! Enjoy the concert...no matter what it takes.

wtwtc- I am sorry you are having such a painful time. It doesn't seem fair. On your comment about the implant being to big, maybe you are on to some thing. I do remember my doctor saying in my pre-surgery appointment that he would use one of the smaller sized implants because if you used an implant that was too large, it could over-correct and that would also cause problems.

I also read something on an internet blog when I first started researching about having the surgery, from a guy who had posted his experience with the MBA implant (I guess he was one of the first people to get it.) He experienced a lot of pain and if I recall, it had become lodged in further than it was suppose to or something. It sounded like his pain was pretty intense. He indicated that they removed that implant and than I think redid the surgery (maybe with a different size, I can't remember for sure.) Maybe something like that is going on. I hope you can get to the bottom of it.

Hang in there. Try to have fun at your concert!

Kristy

Thanks Sophie. Sometimes I think that even the Dr. doesn't understand. I guess he does, he must just be busy. I will speak to him about it on Monday. I will not let him out of the room until I get an answer; and I do not want his nurse there. She tries to push the appt. along. It is not going to happen this time.

I do think that I have to large of an implant. He said that he placed the #10 implant. This is the largest one. I cannot begin to tell you how bad it burns. I hate to have in re-done but if thats what it takes, I will do it.

Any way, I am planning on having a good time this Saturday.

One more thing. LOL He made an orthotic for my right foot. This is the foot that I had the implant. First of all I have a lift on my left shoe. When I put the orthotic in my right shoe, he has it build up so much that my right hip sits up about one inch. Now common! My family dr. said to take it out, it was throwing me off balance. Imagine how tall the orthotic is if I have a lift on the left and the orthotic on the right is still one inch too tall.

kbest: How is your second implant going? Believe it or not, it is not my implant that is keeping me from walking, it is my ankle. (My good ankle)

Hello WTWTC-

What are they going to do about your ankle?

My second implant is going pretty well. I was able to get my cast off after 4 wks. So I was pretty happy. I have ran into a few problems (with both feet) but nothing really bad.

My most serious concern is that I have really poor balance in my foot that I had my first surgery on (I think it has to do with the achilles tendon part of the surgery). I seem to have a tendency to fall foward (especially in the shower when I am bare foot.) At my last apppointment my podiatrist did say that my right foot should be stronger than it was, and he gave me additional exercises to do. They involve standing on my tiptoes, but I can't unless I am really putting my weight on to something else (like I can go on tiptoe if I lean against the bathroom counter, but I can't just go up on tiptoe.) I have another appointment next week so we will see what he says. It is kind of weird because it seems like my foot that I had done second, is stronger than the foot I had done first.

Let me know if you have any advice. Overall, I am still happy with the surgery.

Have a great day! Kristy

I think that the Dr. Wants you to build up your calf muscle. Do you have a band that you could do exercises with? When they place the implant, this takes away some of your ankles ability to roll in. Because you were so use to all that flexability and some of that has been taken away, you will need to re-learn how to have more balance. You could stand on one leg and place your hand on a counter for some support. You will feel your leg muscles contracting. This will teach you how to have more balance.
You will also need to work your hip muscles; this will give you more balance.

I remember when I had the triple fusion, I did not have any balance at all. I had to re-learn all this. Maybe he could give you a prescription for Physical Therapy. I think that this will help the most. The know what you need to work on to make your gait normal again. I am a BIG believer in Physical Therapy.

I had X-Rays of both feet and ankles. I am going to send them to Dr. Myerson in Baltimore. His nurse said that he will review them and see if he could help me. If they can, I will make an appointment. The do not have any openings until June of 2006. That is OK because I need a break from surgery. I am going to rest up, exercise and build up more vacation time.

What problems are you having with both feet?

Thanks for the advice. I think I may ask about the physical therapy. I do the exercises that he showed me, but I just don't know if I am doing them right.

My other problem that I am having with both feet I think an adjustment with my orthotics will take care of. I have an appt. next week. (actually I think I just need new. I am wearing the ones I had before surgery and I think that they are not right now.)

I hope everything goes well with your ankle. I don't blame you for wanting a break from surgery. The thought of ever being in a cast or on crutches again is certaintly not very appealing. I am much to wimpy for that experience again!

Thanks,
Kristy

I think you are right about the orthotics. Your feet have changed since the MBA Implant. The orthotics are probably "Posted" to much. You might not need that now. Please keep me informed. By the way, the physical therapist will teach you how to become "body aware". They are very good at what they do. I know you will feel much better. I am happy for you, I am glad that the MBA is working out.

I sent my x-rays and medical records to Dr. Myerson's office today. The nurse said that they will call me the same day that they receive them. She will let me know if they can help. She said that she didn't see why not. There was something that they can do for everyone. I will let you know what they had to say.

Take Care

this post still alive? i'm looking into having a triple fusion but have a few doubts.

glad to hear you guys are recovering with success. send an update to let us know how you're doing.

-kenneth

I have had a triple fusion on the left. What are your symptoms? Why do they want to do the fusions if you don't mind me asking?

what is a richie brace?
James

A Ritchie Brace is a foot orthotic and leg brace combined. The claim that it will prevent your ankle from rolling inward. At first it takes the pain away but then after a few hours, it digs into your leg. Mine had to be adjusted a few times.