Subtalar Coalition Surgery - Foot Problems Message Board

Kath2226 · 01-26-2005, 10:08 AM

Hi All,

I'm scheduled to have surgery in a subtalar coalition in my foot this spring. My doctor is going to "remove the boney coalition" and I will be on crutches for 3 weeks, *hopefully* back to normal in 3 months. I was wondering if anyone has had or heard of this particular surgery and could tell me their experiences with it? I've read about more serious surgeries of the subtalar joint fusions on this board - am I doomed to have one of those sometime in my life? Should removing the boney coalition be successful for someone age 22? I've been having pain for 5 years (since I was 17). I'm able to walk fine (minimal pain) and my pain is only severe after walking ALL DAY long or whenever I attempt to run. But my daily life is not too painful. Want I want to do most is get back to running. (I think it was too much running that agrivated it in the first place). Any advice would be much appreciated!

Katherine

daxmargo · 01-28-2005, 12:01 AM

hi Katherine, i have subtalar coalitions in both my feet, apparently if you discover it when you are relatively young, under 25, then you can have the coalition removed and it beocmes like a joint again, i would think however it will be more than three weeks on crutches, more like 6.. then physical therapy which is hugely important. I am 33 and just started having symptoms from mine, and at this age i have to have both ankles fused because i am not young enough to have a successful coalition removal. I also have a cousin who had the same surgery as you at age 20, and although he did have to have 1 more surgery after to realign his ankle, within about 1.5 years of all the surgeries he was able to run again just as he had before the onset of symptoms, so just be prepared for a long recovery period, but a good outcome. And make sure you do physical therapy a lot. I am having my first fusion in June, and am basically preparing to take at least 3 months off work so i am just thinking positively of it as a break

Good luck!

Kath2226 · 01-28-2005, 08:24 AM

Daxmargo,

My doctor told me that as soon as my incision heals I will start walking, which he said was about 2-3 weeks. Then I would immediately start 6 weeks of PT. What I am most worried about with this surgery is that it will be Outpatient surgery and I will have regional anesthesia though a lumbar sacral sciatic block and sedation. I've had sedation before (for my wisdom teeth) and I definitely was not "asleep" or in the "twilight zone" but I was pretty conscious the whole time - especially for the painful needles they stuck in me. I'm terribly worried about the nerve block because I know they take like 10 minutes, use HUGE needles, and are painful. I know that the sedation won't make me "unaware" of the pain, although it may make me not remember it afterwards. Are you familar with any of this? {removed}[ No off-board contact of any kind, for any reason. No exceptions. ]

Thanks,
Katherine

daxmargo · 01-29-2005, 09:21 AM

hi Katherine.. the lumbar anesthesia is actually much safer than being knocked out completely because when using lumbar you still will be breathing normally, thats one main advantage to using it, so when given the choice, even though it is painful i would do the lumbar, you wont feel anything in your foot at all with the block (my dad is anesthesiologist so i asked him about it) The only poential real side effect which a small # of people get is "spinal headache" which means you could have a hangover like headache fora couple days after.. but even that is rare HOWEVER.. i woud seriously make sure that you get a second opinion about your surgery before you do it, i have never heard of a coalition removal where you are walking in 3 weeks! it IS major surgery, my cousin told me he was in the hospital overnight for his, and for mine since it is a little more complicated i will be in for 2 nights. Apparently the pain for the first week is a nightmare, but just take lots of painkillers

Kath2226 · 01-29-2005, 09:47 AM

Thanks for the reply! I am most worried about the pain of the nerve block, but I just talked to one of my friends who has also had a nerve block and sedation (and she had it at Duke where I am having my surgery) and she said she was so heavily sedated she didn't feel or remember the nerve block. So hopefully I won't feel the pain of it.

My doctor said that he would have me walking as soon as the incision is healed (2-3 weeks) - perhaps my coalition is much smaller than your cousin's? Mine is located on the inside of my foot, below the ankle bone - perhaps also it is in a different location? I'm not sure why he wants me walking that soon, but I trust that he knows what he's doing, as he's a well-known specialist at Duke.

Would you mind asking your cousin a little bit more about his experiences? Or directing him to this board? I would love to learn more about what he went through and especially why he had the second ankle reallignment surgery.

Thanks!
Katherine