Im about to have a subtalar joint fusion in june, and wanted to know if any one has had this type of surgery. I have osteoarthritis in my ankle, so far im not sure if I want to have this surgery since its not a guarantee that the pain will go away. So if there is any one who has had this operation I would greatly appreciate if I could get a response on the people who benefitted this type of fusion. thank you

Good Morning! I have had a triple fusion which includes subtalar, talar navicular and calcanial cuboid (heel fusion) My sutalar was trashed and it caused pain all the time. The joints that they fused have no pain at all. The recovery time on this fusion is about 12 weeks before they will let you weight bear. For me, this was the only bad part. I cannot stand sitting around. How did you come to have arthritis in your ankle? I have severe arthritis also. Some time down the road, I am looking to have an ankle replacement.

More questions, did you have an accident, do you have flat feet, are you active?

Hi, I am going to have this surgery in the begining of September, so I look for some information too - did you have it done with a bone graft? If so, where was it so taken from? They want to take mine from the pelvis, but I am not quite sure if that is good as I am a woman still planning to have some kids - and so I am a bit scared in terms of touching the pelvis in any way.

They did not take bone graft with my second round of fusions. They used synthetic bone and that worked very well. With my first fusion, they took a piece from my heel. I would not suggest this as cyst form later in life. Will post more later.

Thanks for the reply wtwct, I have flat feet. My left foot does'nt bother me at all, its my right foot thats giving me all the problems. First time I went to my doctors appointment he told me I had a tarsal coalition, so after some time thinking about it I had surgery to remove the coalition. I was off work for about 4 months, having that surgery was the worst decision of my life! Now my foot hurts 10 times as bad, I wish I would have just left my foot the way it was. So now Im having the fusion done in june but im still having doubts on it. Wtwct do you think its worth having the fusion? I mean how long after the fusion do have before you need an ankle replacement?

And if I have the fusion Im worried I wont be able to keep up with my hobbies, I practice brazilian jiu jitsu and kickboxing, im a little scared I wont be able to do all the things I did before, specialy running since thats the main routine I do to keep my cardio up.

BJJ: It has been four years since my triple fusion. I need an ankle replacement now. I think I can hold off for a while but the days are getting worse and worse. I don't know if you will need one of these. I have flat feet also. One day while I was at work, my tibia crashed to to floor. I guess I ruptured my tendons and my ligament came off. I had to have surgery then. To be honest, it changes your life. If they fuse the subtalar, you will not have the side to side movement any more. You will have to be careful how and where you walk. Walking thru grass in the dark is a problem for me. I have to hold on to someone. The day time is better as I can look down and avoid any uneven surfaces.

I use to tear the treadmill up. I cannot do that any more, I have to use the stationary bike or the eleptical trainor. For me, running is out of the question. I would ask your doctor what he thinks. Better yet, it would be best to ask a physical therapits. They know what your limitations will be. I am sorry to say this but, you will have limitations. This does not mean that you cannot be active, you will just have "new hobbies".

I don't know. I can still do a lot of things but, there are a lot of things that I cannot do.

How much pain are you in?

My ankle hurts real bad, I can barely take it, at work I am on my feet all day, by the end of the day I fell like I want to get my foot cut amputated, What worries me the most is if I do get the fusion done, is how long it will last. I dont want an ankle replacement...so far the two doctors I have seen tell me that ankle replacements are not even close to where doctors hoped they would be 15 years ago.

fusions last forever and their is no reversing them.

One of the doctors I've seen said some fusions don't last forever...

I am sorry you are in so much pain. The fusion will take care of this. Fusions do last forever unless you break it for some odd reason or another.

The doctor might mean that after you fuse a joint, another must go. What is going on with your ankle. What did the Dr. Say about that.

Four years ago, I had a fusion of my talonavicular and calcaneal-cuboid (not the subtalar). I had a bone graft from my pelvis and I was NWB for 6 weeks. I had the surgery because of continued instability after an ankle fracture and sprain. The surgery totally solved my instability but I did loose side to side motion in my foot. As a result, I had to give up many of the sports I enjoy including anything high impact like tennis or aerobics. Last June, I developed arthritis in an adjacent joint because of the added stress after the fusion. I had that joint fused and now I have a non-union! Both of these complications are rare and I wouldnt discourage you from the surgery. The fusion really helped me. The only problem I had was 4 years later with arthritis in another joint- but that is rare. The recovery was 9 mo. to a year but it was worth it. Good luck!

Hi BJJ Player:

I had subtalar fusion w/screw fixation last year. That was in the summer and I'm still not 100% in that ankle. I had really bad arthritis before the surgery (unfortunately I have it in both ankles but only had surgery in the left so far). Now I'm dealing with tendinitis in the achilles as well as osteoarthritis in the foot/ankle. However, aside from very rainy days, I think the foot is better. I don't have the original pain, just the pain from the tendinitis which should go away with more PT and treatments. I am anxious to get the other ankle over and done with so I can get on with my life! My surgeon does think that my recovery has taken longer because I'm always on my feet at work. I did not weight bear until two months after surgery and I was out of work for 9 weeks (next time I will take a little more time). Hope this helps! :)

Thanks for all the replys guys, Im most likely going to have the surgery some time this year. All this stuff about non-unions and arthritis in other joints is realy starting to scare the crap out of me...hopefully every thing works out and my fusion works out. Miminp what is "w/screw fixation"?

The surgeon placed a screw from my talus through my heel bone. It helps keep things stable while the fusion takes place. My ankle feels really good now - much better than the right ankle which has not had surgery yet. I'm glad I did it but can't wait to get the other one done!