Hi Sharon, I am pretty sure you had your surgery this past Monday the 24th. Would love to know how you are doing and if everything went as planned. I sure hope you have better luck with the fusion this time around!!:blob_fire I just wanted to let you know I was thinking of you and please post when you can. I am at 3 weeks tomorrow and just hoping things are healing but I'm not sure if there are any signs of healing that I don't know of. Did you have anything other than xray last time to let you know the fusion had failed? With the nwb status....I wouldn't even want to step on my foot to see if it is painful. Sophie:angel:

Hi Sophie:wave: ,
It's so nice to know you're thinking of me. I did have my surgery on Mon. A few weeks ago I had an MRI that also showed the non-union. He could see it wasn't all together when he took off the plate and screws but hoped that the 5 weeks with the pins, 2 with the cast, and the cam since then (and 24/7 bone stim) would help it get better. The MRI ruled out that possibility so he said there was no point in waiting any longer. Post op Mon. he said the graft portion of my hip bone was completely hollow and that only a small section was actually connected all the way. He took bone matter from my heel, mixed it with blood and ground up bone from the surgery area and made a paste the size of a golf ball and shoved it into the bone. Put it all back together with a new plate and screws and put me in a splint with coban. I thought that was funny because I just asked what coban was last week. I had a regional pain pump which kept my foot numb until this morning but now it's very :blob_fire awake. The scariest thing is that the plate hid the previous non-union on the xray which makes a strong case for listening to the pain. If I just ignored it, my bone would've just snapped at some point :eek: . Thanks again for checking on me and I'm so glad you're still on the boards. How're you feeling at 3 weeks? I'll check in tomorrow again. I'm gonna go back to my recliner:yawn: .

Hi Sharon...I'm glad you are doing OK and I really hope everything works out for you this time. How long are you supposed to be NWB for? Don't forget to take those pain meds before the pain builds up! I have only a limited amount of pain now but have a squeezing vise type ache in the joint but I was told that is from the fusion trauma to the joint. I have 2 screws but no graft. You did answer one question for me. I was curious to know what symptoms would be present if the fusion was not totally healed and I start walking. My doctor says I will weightbear at 6 weeks but I know he will xray first and go from there. I don't have a plate so I am hoping everything will be clear with the xray!! That is still another 3 weeks away so I guess I'll save the worrying until closer to that date! I had a second incision as well because I had the plate and 4 screws removed from the 2nd met shortening I had done in November. I kept them!!

So I guess you have an additional incision on your heal. Will you get a boot or a cast? Do you know? Well get some rest and post when you can!! Sophie:angel:

Hello:wave: Sophie,
Before the plate removal which revealed the non-union my toe would swell up and turn red, almost like gout someone told me, and it was swollen over the joint area toward the 2nd MTP and still quite painful. Xrays made it appear that the plate was rubbing in the joint by the toenail so the non-union wasn't expected. I have a splint with coban wrap that I'm not allowed to take off and will probably get this splint re-wrapped or a new splint at my first post-op appointment on 8/4. I'll be nwb at least 6 weeks. I kept my screws from last surgery but I forgot to ask for the implant when it came out or the plate from last fusion. Darn. It would be an interesting collection. I have a series of progressive photos from pre and post op though :D . Good luck to you. Hope that 2nd MTP does well too. I only have problems with my big toe luckily. Take care and I'll check in again later or tomorrow.:)