Nerve Release Surgery anyone? - Foot Problems Message Board

emmie54 · 03-14-2009, 09:42 AM

I was diagnosed this fall with Anterior Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome. I have been in ever increasing pain. we have experimented with various meds which have caused intolerable side effects. My OS did a diagnostic injection yesterday to block the deep peroneal nerve and my foot feels great today. He said if this gives me relief he will go in and do a nerve release. This is on the top of my foot. Laterally, my Nerve conduction test/EMG also showed some sural nerve involvement. The pain laterally was masked by the Peroneal nerve pain so I now feel that since the other pain has been relieved.

So we will inject the sural nerve next. I may be facing nerve release of both of these nerves in the future. Has anyone had these surgeries and how successful (or not

) were they?

thanks

emmie

aed2113 · 03-14-2009, 09:52 AM

Emmie, I had bi-lateral tarsal tunnel releases last year. I can't say a ton about it or tell you I feel amazing just because I had other surgeries at the same time and had complications with them that I'm still dealing with. Apparently the release did work though because I got a new EMG test done about 8 months after the surgeries and it showed some progress, the results were a lot better than they were pre-surgery. As for the actual surgery i think I was a little different than most in terms of care because I was NWB for the other parts of the surgery and I don't think it's as bad for just the release BUT I can say that even though the incision is fairly large I didn't even notice it was there until they took the initial dressing off ten days after surgery and have never had any pain from it, so I think that's a good sign...Sorry if this wasn't very helpful but from what I've read there can be some great results from this surgery!

emmie54 · 03-14-2009, 10:24 AM

thanks. I am hopeful. I've had three surgeries on this foot already and am facing PTTD on the other one which I can't even consider until I get the first one stabilized. I don't know who will be happier, me or my surgeon! I was in so much pain when I went in I just burst into tears which he has NEVER seen me do and I thought he was going to burst into tears just looking at me. But then again, men don't handle tears very well!! I thought he was going to die on the spot.

hurts2walk · 03-15-2009, 08:24 AM

emmie: I had tarsal tunnel release about 8 years ago. I was about 4 weeks NWB. It was outpatient surgery. I got on with my life just fine afterwards (compared to the pttd surgery). I never had total relief because the nerve entrapment was caused by the structure (pronation) of my foot. I have refused the meds for the nerve pain because I have not heard good things about them...even from the doc. There is NOTHING like nerve pain and I feel for you. And I want to say that recently I went to a new surgeon for an opinion on having my second pttd surgery and I cried too...which I have never done. I felt stupid but I could not help myself. It sounds like this surgery is the next step for you and I am betting on it helping your poor foot!

emmie54 · 03-15-2009, 01:29 PM

hurts- sometimes it's hard, even if you are usually a very positive person, not to let the emotions take control sometimes. I was so shocked that I did that but I guess I just needed to! The nerve meds are awful for side effects. He put me back on Lyrica to take just at night so we'll see how that goes. It made my vision so blurred before but I was taking it during the day so we'll just see how that goes. So I take it your nerve release was before any PTTD surgery?