ankle surgery--again! - Foot Problems Message Board

brittsmom8 · 04-20-2004, 10:06 AM

Hi!
Love the posts!
I tried to post a while ago, but I guess I wasn't logged in. So if I'm repeating myself, sorry.
I had surgery to repair 2 torn ligaments in March 2003. In November my ankle started hurting again but I thought this was due to the cold weather coming in. In January I started having sharp pain going up my ankle into my leg. Not all the time but when it happened, it took my breath away.
I went to my Orthopedic Surgeon's office and saw the podiatrist. She said that I had an impingement on both of the ligaments that I had surgery on. She told me to go back to my ankle brace and wear orthotics. That didn't work. I saw her again in March and she said that my ankle is very loose and that the Orthopedic Surgeon will have to do surgery again. She told me to have an MRI done. I saw my surgeon 2 weeks ago and he said that one of my ligaments had stretched back out but the other one is OK. The ankle, he says, is pretty tight. It was up to me whether to have the surgery. I opted for the surgery because of the pain.
This past week the pain has not been as strong as before. It has me wondering whether I should have the surgery. My husband said that it's because I haven't done anything to aggrevate my ankle. If I don't have this surgery now, will the pain come back later? I really want to start running again and haven't been able to since last year. Another clinker: the place where I fell is reimbursing my insurance company. The Statue of Limitations is up in September. After this date, my insurance company will no longer pay for anything that is related to this injury. So I'm worried that if I'm not aggressive now with my treatment I won't be able to do anything after September. I also don't want to seem like a hypochondriac.
Any advice? I know that this is totally my decision but just wondering if anyone has been through this and what did you do?
By the way if EKO reads this: This is a great site. Thanks for telling us about it on the other ortho message board.
Thanks everyone,
Karen

eko · 04-20-2004, 11:49 AM

Karen - you are welcome, that other board was getting difficult to read.

You have a tough call to make here, you say that the statute of limitations is up in September - how far in advance would you need the surgery to make sure everything is covered? I know Sept. will be here before we know it.

If you are still experiencing pain, even though it is not as bad because you are not aggrevating it, you may want to consider it. Especially if it will help you to run once again. I had ankle surgery (Brostrom Repair) last fall and I would not want to do it again unless I had a compelling reason to. To me, pain and a desire to get back to my normal lifestyle would compell me to do it again.

I wish you all the best in your decision. Let us know how it goes. -eko

kfs333 · 04-20-2004, 10:14 PM

I had the Brostom repair in 2001 that failed in 2003. Just a little over 3 1/2 weeks I had my second ankle reconstruction with a tendon augmentation, Chrisman Snook procedure which was my 4th ankle surgery to the same ankle. Both my ankle and subtalar joint was unstable. The pain that I had wasn't always there, but when it was, the pain was bad. I agree with Eko on that I wouldn't have another surgery unless the pain is bad and I can't do basic everyday things ( towards the end, before surgery I would hurt so bad that I couldn't stand for over an half an hour ). I am still having the deep ache pain in the ankle, but it is a lot better and different from what it was before the surgery.

brittsmom8 · 04-21-2004, 04:52 AM

EKO and KFS

,
Thanks for your reply. I had a Brostrom in March 2003 to repair my CFL and ATFL. My CFL is fine but it's my ATFL.
I can do everyday things. In fact, people really don't know that I still have an ankle problem. I don't limp or talk about the pain too often. That's why its so surprising to people that I'm having surgery.
Normally I would probably wait to see if the pain is going to come back. But because of the Statute of Limitations coming up, I'm just afraid that if I wait until the pain is intense again it will be too late for me to file a claim with my insurance company. The insurance company of the place where I fell has been calling me about every other month to see if I'm ready to settle. They've been very nice to me. (There was a hole in a step. The area wasn't well lit and it was dark and of course I fell in that hole.--They still haven't repaired the hole, by the way.) I really wish I did not have to be in this situation.
My doctor sent me from one doctor to another for 6 months before they decided to do an MRI and found out that I tore both of my ligaments.
The Orthopedic Surgeon did a thermal shrinkage of my ligaments last time with arthroscopy but this time he said that he would do an open procedure and suture the ligament to make it tight. I know that I will always have some sort of pain. I'm really nervous about this. Some days my ankle feels fine except for a few "twitches". But some days the pain just takes my breath away. Is it better to do this as a "prevention" even though there is some pain or wait until the pain is so intense that I can't move or work? Plus paying for it on my own. I just wouldn't be able to do this. If I start running again without having the procedure done and I have huge amounts of pain again it may be too late to have the procedure done.
I really don't like the statute of limitations. Going through 3 months with some kind of cast is not the best situation I can think of being in.
Thanks for your advice. I really appreciate it. The surgery is scheduled for May 3rd. So the closer it gets the more nervous I am about it. More nervous now than last year's. Probably because I know what's in store.
Thanks again,
Karen

FootDox · 04-21-2004, 08:38 AM

Karen,

You said you had a "brostrom" in March 2003...but then said you had the "thermal shrinkage" done...did you have both?

If you only had the A'scope with thermal shrinkage, then the Brostom is the next logical step. An open repair of the ATFL by physically removing some of the ligament (shortening it) then suturing it closed is a Brostrom-Gould repair, and is generally succesful for persons with only ATFL laxity.

If you are still experiencing pain with daily activites, then running comfortably may be a long way off. Have you used any braces? Sometimes use of a brace such as a "Richie style AFO" (like an air cast stirrup brace with a custom foot bed attached to control motion ) can simulate what it would feel like after a repair. Of course, if you use the brace and are pain free...do you want to go through with the procedure?

Good luck