Surgery went really well. I opted not to be under general anesthesia, but rather to get a spinal block and to be sedated. That way, I didn't have to have a breathing tube and was able to choose how much or how little I was sedated. I slept through most of the surgery and woke up toward the end. The nurse told me that they were almost done, they were just putting a cast on. She told me they were going to do a pink cast and I strongly objected since I hate pink, so they gave me some other options (I don't remember what) and I ended up with green instead (much much better). Then I went to recovery until the spinal block wore off, and as the spinal block wore off, I started getting pretty sore, so they gave me some IV pain meds to hold me over until I got to the second stage of recovery. Right now I'm feeling pretty good--no pain, just some discomfort. (Of course I'm trying to keep ahead of the pain with the meds.)
So, as far as the surgery itself: My doctor told me that once he got in there, it was fairly easy to figure out why I've been having so much pain and why the treatment so far has not worked. He said while he was palpating the tendon, he found a part where it felt like a bone rather than a tendon, though there was not a bone there, but it was scarred and the scar had formed improperly and badly. He said that particular part of the tendon was exactly where I was having my pain, toward the end of the tendon (where it attaches to the bone). So, he did the tendon transfer. My doctor said that he is very hopeful for successful recovery as the rest of the damaged tendon was very healthy.
From here: I'm in my green (not pink!) cast for two weeks. In it, my foot is turned slightly inward so that the tendons are at rest. After two weeks, they'll remove this cast and the stitches from the incision and they will recast me (straightening my foot a little more). I'll be in that cast for four weeks. All of that time I'll be on crutches. After that, I should be in a walking boot and start to bear more weight until I am completely weight-bearing in the boot. I'll probably be in the boot in 6 more weeks. Complete recovery will be 6-9 months, but I'll be back in shoes and such in 12 weeks.
congrats I'm excited for you! I went through the exact same thing and same issues.
6 weeks ago had my tendon transfer surgery and osteotomy. Today they removed my cast, foot looks pretty good. Doctor said I should be in the removable boot and no weight bearing for at least another 2 weeks then I will start physical therapy (still wearing the boot).
