LisaBdot

Dear Frankenfoot, Missyluke, and FlatfootDiva,

What a day brightener! Thank you for your kind words and great additions. I suspect many of us didn't get much in the way of post-surgical tips from our surgeons. I certainly didn't. I've thought to put all of these together in one giant list, give it to my surgeon, and suggest that he include it in his patient hand-outs. I'm kind of glad I haven't accomplished that yet because so many good ideas keep coming in!

I'm a "knowledge is power" person, too. So much of this is out of our control. I have a strong need to feel in control, to the extent it's reasonable, of my own self. My surgeon was literally ready to divorce me as a patient because of the detail and quantity of my questions. He thought I was scaring myself unduly. He thought I was questioning his ability. He thought it meant I was going to be a nightmare of a post-surgical patient. He didn't understand that it was all part of my process of readying myself, and he was pleasantly surprised that I was a breeze, afterwards.

But I gotta say, you are all braver than I--watching the icky stuff on that popular online video site. I can (and did) read descriptions. I can pore over diagrams and illustrations. But the photographs?--oh hell no. NoNoNoNoNoNoNo, uh-uh. Nope. And VIDEO?! Not. In. This. Lifetime.

Guess what? Two and a half years post-surgery, and here I am with a new tip:

I continue to have swelling on that foot. If I elevate and ice and all that stuff, I can get it way down, but never entirely gone. When I get it that far down, it's clear that it starts right along the line of my calcaneal osteotomy scar. So I've just started seeing a massage therapist trained in lymphatic drainage massage.

Apparently I have quite a lot of adhesions (internal scarring) under that particular incision. That's impeding the flow of lymph and causing a back-up. To start with, he did some very firm massage all along the incision to break up scar tissue. That will continue over several visits until he's got it gone. He also massaged my calf and foot, then taped the back of my calf in an interesting criss-cross pattern. That's supposed to help keep the passages open for a while. When I start to see swelling increase again, I will go back for another session--probably in a week or two.

Later, after the scar tissue is more broken up, he will do the actual lymphatic drainage massage. That's an odd technique. Doesn't seem like it could possibly be doing anything, but it's a well documented effective modality. It looks as if the therapist is lightly brushing your skin with fingertips with no more pressure than the weight of two nickels.

I was feeling guilty because I thought I must not have done enough incision massage of my own, but he said that what he was doing wasn't something you can really do for yourself. I went in yesterday with considerable swelling, and it's not bad at all this morning. I will keep you posted.

Big hugs to all,
Lisa

PS. Frankenfoot, I love your name. Made me laugh because, being a woman wearing an 11 C, I've called my nether appendages Frankenfeet for years. And now, with all the cute scars...

PPS. FlatfootDiva, The Avengers showcased the very best of 60's style--clothing, interior design, all of it--have you noticed? And I wanted to be Emma Peele.