Hi all. I'm new to this board but desperately need some advise. My son fell from his 2nd floor balcony and shattered his left heel and broke the right in 3 places. He went to ER Tuesday night and then local orthopedic doctor yesterday. Doctor wants swelling to go down first and then see him back in a week for more x-rays or other radiologic testing. He said he might need a bone fusion. My son is an Ironworker and wants to be able to return to his work but I think he needs to go to Chicago as we are only 45 minutes from there. I've read Dr. Holmes at Rush is good. Anyone heard of him or know of a better doctor in the Chicago area. Thanks to all responses in advance.
Tricia

Hello,
I'm sorry about what happened. I'm not famiiar with Chicago but 1) I think you're 100% right to go into the city and 2) I read a good tip here that I'll share: look up your local professional sports team and see who they use. Just last week I googled "red sox" and "foot ankle" and discovered the best surgeon in Boston (team dr. for the red sox and consultant for the patriots and bruins). If you can't find the right person through google, you can always call the team directly.

Best of luck!

Kris

A shattered heel is a difficult injury, although we have had some people on here who've made good recoveries, returned to sports, etc.

Fusion, which I assume means subtalar fusion, is an option. Basically, the pieces of the heelbone (calcaneus) will be attached to the talus, so that they grow together. People with subtalar fusions do have some difficulty walking on surfaces that are very uneven, (unpaved trails, etc) but otherwise are in reasonably good shape, and well able to walk and stand on flat ground.

He could try to get by without the fusion, and it sometimes happens that the foot heals fine without it. Instead, the surgeon just puts the heelbone back together by itself. I'm not a doctor, and I haven't seen your son, so I have no idea whether that's likely to work or even possible for him.

If he chooses no fusion, however, there's a chance that he'll go through the whole long unpleasant healing process and find that the subtalar joint still isn't right, is still causing pain all the time. Then, he'd need fusion anyway, and then have to go through healing again.

It depends on his priorites, and what the surgeon thinks the possible outcomes are for his particular case. Since he has to wait for the swelling to go down some before doing anything anyway, definitely, get more than one opinion before deciding, including the opinion of a good foot and ankle surgeon. I had a successful experience with a member of the faculty at a nearby teaching hospital.

Meanwhile, keep the foot propped way up, and use ice. If he's casted, putting ice behind the knee can help decrease the swelling.

Good luck. It'll be a long hard road for him and the whole family, but finding a good surgeon is the first thing.

A shattered heel is a difficult injury, although we have had some people on here who've made good recoveries, returned to sports, etc.

Fusion, which I assume means subtalar fusion, is an option. Basically, the pieces of the heelbone (calcaneus) will be attached to the talus, so that they grow together. People with subtalar fusions do have some difficulty walking on surfaces that are very uneven, (unpaved trails, etc) but otherwise are in reasonably good shape, and well able to walk and stand on flat ground.

He could try to get by without the fusion, and it sometimes happens that the foot heals fine without it. Instead, the surgeon just puts the heelbone back together by itself. I'm not a doctor, and I haven't seen your son, so I have no idea whether that's likely to work or even possible for him.

If he chooses no fusion, however, there's a chance that he'll go through the whole long unpleasant healing process and find that the subtalar joint still isn't right, is still causing pain all the time. Then, he'd need fusion anyway, and then have to go through healing again.

It depends on his priorites, and what the surgeon thinks the possible outcomes are for his particular case. Since he has to wait for the swelling to go down some before doing anything anyway, definitely, get more than one opinion before deciding, including the opinion of a good foot and ankle surgeon. I had a successful experience with a member of the faculty at a nearby teaching hospital.

Meanwhile, keep the foot propped way up, and use ice. If he's casted, putting ice behind the knee can help decrease the swelling.

Good luck. It'll be a long hard road for him and the whole family, but finding a good surgeon is the first thing.

Hi and thanks for your response. He is only 6 days post injury. Doctor ordered CT scans for Friday but only gave us 40 minutes notice so there was no way his girlfriend could get him ready in that short of time. Rescheduled for tomorrow.

His doctor did mention a fusion might be an option but too soon to tell. The swelling has went down tremendously. He's keeping his feet elevated but not all the time. He likes to sit in his wheel chair. I told him he stills needs to keep them elevated.

The one good thing he's got going for him is he's young. 33 years old.

I'm just praying he will heel in time and be able to return to his trade.

Thanks for your input.

Tricia