PTTD surgery scheduled.... questions for people who have been there...
I am scheduled for PTTD surgery on March 24th. I have read many of your posts and have gotten a lot of info. Thank you for that.... Doctor said I will be in the hospital for three days. I was wondering if your experiences have been similar. Just how much pain will I be in? Also wondering what kind of meds were you on and how long did you take them?
Re: PTTD surgery scheduled.... questions for people who have been there...
Hi,
I've had ankle tendon surgery 3 times in less than 3 years. My first surgery was to repair tears in both my peroneal tendons and posterior tibial tendon. All three surgeries for me were done at an outpatient facility under general anesthesia. As far as pain meds, they gave me perocet which made my face swell up. Then they switched me to vicodin which made me throw up constantly. This last surgery, I tried tylenol with codeine and prescription ibuprofin. These didn't make me pain free, but it was enough to take the edge off and I didn't have any other problems with it. All 3 of my surgeries weren't terrible, it's the recovery that's tough. I had to be no weight bearing for 4 weeks, followed by gradual weight bearing while in a boot, then 4 plus weeks of PT. It will take you a good year to completely recover so try not to get too discouraged.
The Following User Says Thank You to ladyabby For This Useful Post: gramattheshore (03-01-2011)
Re: PTTD surgery scheduled.... questions for people who have been there...
Hi, I'm 4 1/2 weeks post-op and I agree with the previous post that the surgery isn't the hard part --- the NWB for 2 months afterward is. My surgery was done as an outpatient. It took 2.5 hours in the OR and another 2 to come out of recovery. I went home that evening. I had 2 blocks put in my leg that numbed my foot as well as general anesthesia so nothing hurt that day. As soon as I got home the doctor told me to start taking 2 percocet every 4-6 hours whether I was in pain or not. It is far easier to prevent the pain then to chase it. I took 2 percocet every 4 hours for the first week then 2 every 6 hours for another 3 days. honestly I don't really remember the pain being much of a problem at all. I slept a lot the first week because of the meds and that was good. The hardest part was getting myself to the toilet and sitting down which wasn't very comfortable. I did not like having my foot down at all the first week. I kept it up on a foot elevation pillow (which has been worth every bit of $35 I spent). At about 10 days I tried switching to hydrocodone but my body didn't like it so I switched to Tramadol 50, about 1 or 2 a day. Now at 4.5 weeks out I take 1 tramadol to sleep about every other night because I am uncomfortable in the heavy boot and my leg often hurts at night. During the day I elevate most of the time and if it starts to hurt it is usually minor and goes away with ice. Good luck.
Re: PTTD surgery scheduled.... questions for people who have been there...
Thank you so much for that information. It was very helpful. I was hoping that the pain was not too bad but my main concern is the non-weight bearing for a few months. Did you rent a wheelchair or something or could you use the crutches. I heard, as you said, that having your leg down is not comfortable. I am a very active person and I think i'm gonna go nuts being shut down for a while. Putting on weight is another concern of mine. How is that going for you? Has it been an issue so far?
Re: PTTD surgery scheduled.... questions for people who have been there...
Hi,
After trying three different types of crutches and almost killing myself trying to use them, I bought a walker with swivel wheels, put a pillow on the seat and leaned my knee on the pillow and scooted around with it. I was able to get around pretty easily. I thought about renting or buying one of the knee scooters but they are pretty expensive and this worked just as well. As far as gaining weight, I actually lost some. It was too much effort trying to get into the kitchen let alone fixing something to eat. LOL. Make sure you invest in a shower chair...it's a must as once you get your staples out and get the ok to get your foot wet, in the beginning you won't be able to stand in the shower. Going up and down the steps was challenging. I went up putting the knee of my bad ankle on the step and used my good leg to kind of propel myself to the next step if that makes any sense. Going down steps outside, I used a small ottoman to lean my knee on and then my good leg to go down the next step. After 3 surgeries I kind of mastered what worked best for me and was the easiest to do. You'll figure out what works for you. Good luck and I hope this helps.
Re: PTTD surgery scheduled.... questions for people who have been there...
I agree with Ladyabby... I've been losing weight too just because it is an ordeal to get to the kitchen and by the time a cook something my foot hurts from being "down" so long. And the shower seat is an absolute must. Good Luck!
Re: PTTD surgery scheduled.... questions for people who have been there...
Thanks for the info - especially the part about not gaining weight. That does make sense though. It'll be too tough to get to the kitchen! That makes me feel better.
My next question, everyone, is about your "good foot." My good one is killing me. Is it just because of the way i am walking and limping around? How many of you had a problem with both feet? I don't know if I can go through this twice!!!!!
Re: PTTD surgery scheduled.... questions for people who have been there...
You are making me feel much better about the weight thing. Gaining weight is my worst fear with this whole surgery thing......well, and going nuts being bored and out of work for a long time. I am a phys. ed. teacher and will be out of school for three months while I am non-weight bearing
Re: PTTD surgery scheduled.... questions for people who have been there...
Hi again Lefty,
I am almost 5 weeks post op and yes I am bored out of my skull. I've been reading alot, watching TV, surfing the web, and cross-stitching but you can only do so much of all of that...
Both of my feet are flat and painful so I chose to have surgery on the left one first so I could drive sooner which I have been doing since the 3rd week. It's not very comfortable but it is nice to get out of the house and go somewhere. I think that resting so much has really helped both of my legs. i used to have a big problem with inflammation and leg pains from the flat feet but now my non-surgery leg has gotten a big rest and I'm not so crabby any more. I do still have to support the non-surgery foot with a brace when I'm knee-scootering around the house or crutching.
Oh, and about the weight gain thing... many people have posted that they've still been working out their upper bodies while they are sitting resting their foot. A Wii is perfect for this. I've been able to do push ups (obviously on my knees) and sit ups easily. I've also been able to sit on my front steps and throw the ball for my dogs provided they bring it back! Good luck and don't be nervous... get it over with one foot at a time!
Re: PTTD surgery scheduled.... questions for people who have been there...
I have a question will you be getting a pain block or not because that really helped for the one or two days after surgery I have not heard of people staying in the hospital that long for the surgery. you should be expecting pain and alot of itching and keeping your foot up alot I would recomend you getting a shower stool and you getting a elevation pellow for you foot it helps alot. my doctor gave mine to me when I was in the hospital. I hope that I help you... and I would defently recomend getting a wheel chair for when you are able to go out and get some coshons for your crutches that are made out of lamb wool they help alot... also you are going to need help for the couple of days after surgery up to two weeks. I still need help some times and I am 7 weeks post op. and in nwb cast.... I wish you the best of luck.
Re: PTTD surgery scheduled.... questions for people who have been there...
I'm 4 weeks out of surgery - keeping the foot elevated has been the key to my comfort. I had day surgery, went home with the nerve block, and two days later it was worn off and the percocet was good for a few days. After a week I was mostly on Tylenol, and now nothing unless my foot is down too long. I have a wedge pillow (12 inch) that I use with a pillow to keep my foot elevated for sleeping. Side or back sleeping is okay. I'm not allowed in the shower, but I use the shower stool to hold my leg up and have a bath in the tub. I agree that weight gain is not an issue - pain meds reduce the appetite. Some kind of powdered laxative is a real help. But I do need to start doing more exercise . . . ! Internet, audiobooks, telephone calls are good. Visits are good, but amazingly tiring. I'm older than most of you, however. Good luck!
Re: PTTD surgery scheduled.... questions for people who have been there...
Hi SaltySue, I like your name, reminds me of an ocean lover. I am almost 7 weeks post op from an Evans lateral lengthening, gastroc release, and a accessory navicular removal. Everything is going great! I can put my foot done for much longer periods as long as I use my compression sock and ice it later. I just started the walking motion with my crutches and so far I only like to put about 10-15 pounds of pressure down. I should be putting 25-30 pounds but I don't like the feeling so I'm taking it slow. It feels SO different that what I am used to (flat feet my entire life).
I'm going to start Miralax today since I read about it on the "constipation" board and everyone seems to recommend it.
I've been crutching around a lot seems to be helping with keeping the upper body working. # weeks ago I was exhausted crutching around the house but now I can go through a store. Big improvement.
Happy healing everyone. Good luck and keep smiling.
Re: PTTD surgery scheduled.... questions for people who have been there...
I have an office job. How long should I expect to be out of work? I haven't scheduled surgery yet. I'm thinking end of May when it's starts getting too hot here to ride my bike since I'll be sedentary for awhile. I'm just trying to get an idea of what's to come. I haven't discussed with the doctor any further than the initial surgery consult. We were going to initally try orthotics but then I decided that I just wanted to fix it. I'm only 38 and I want a better quality of life. Orthotics are just a bandaid.
Re: PTTD surgery scheduled.... questions for people who have been there...
It depends on your surgery, I think. I had to plan 8 weeks nwb and hopefully I can go back to my office job parttime for the last 3 of the 8 weeks. I am able to work through the Internet, though, so I have kept up with email and I've done some work at home. I have joined meetings by telephone and conference calls. My recovery calls for lots of walking, so my surgery timing was related to being back on my feet during the longer, warmer days here in the northeast! I'm lookng forward to biking in June! Good luck.
Re: PTTD surgery scheduled.... questions for people who have been there...
Thanks. I got x-rays on my foot and I'm waiting for the doctor to contact me about the details of what needs to be done. I suppose that even though I sit most of the time at work I would need more than just a couple of weeks off. I've had abdominal surgeries but nothing on my feet so this is a new way of thinking for me. I went back to school a week after surgery back then. I'm sure this is a completely different ball game.
Re: PTTD surgery scheduled.... questions for people who have been there...
Hi Julie,
I would think that if you can keep your foot elevated and ice it occasionally throughout the day that you'd be able to work at your desk after 4 or 5 weeks. I am at 7 weeks and can sit at my desk for about an hour then my foot aches from the swelling so I take a break and put it up on the desk (luckily no one can see me doing this...) and slap an ice bag over it. If I need to I can go for 3 or 4 hours with my foot down under my desk if I put an ice pack into my boot. I open my boot and lay the ice pack along the top of my foot and ankle then close the boot back up over the ice bag. It feels good. I've also needed to raise my desk chair as high as it goes so that the weight of my foot on the floor is less. I take 1 pain killer a day and it hasn't affected my thinking. In the early weeks I took more and it did make me a bit fuzzy.
One of the harder parts for me is that I can't carry anything and little things like going across my room to get a file then carry it back to my desk can be a challenge. I've had to rearrange everything right within reach so I am pretty clutttered.
Good luck. Work is doable if your boss is understanding. Post your results.
Re: PTTD surgery scheduled.... questions for people who have been there...
Quote:
Originally Posted by lefty23
I am scheduled for PTTD surgery on March 24th. I have read many of your posts and have gotten a lot of info. Thank you for that.... Doctor said I will be in the hospital for three days. I was wondering if your experiences have been similar. Just how much pain will I be in? Also wondering what kind of meds were you on and how long did you take them?
Hope your surgery went well. My PTTD surgery was outpatient and it took 3.5 hours.
Re: PTTD surgery scheduled.... questions for people who have been there...
My surgery is tomorrow. The doc says it will be 2 hours. He's cutting bone and putting screws in and lengthening and shortening tendons. I'm in a hard cast for 2 months. I have my Roller Aid sitting here ready to go. It's outpatient surgery. I will report back.
Re: PTTD surgery scheduled.... questions for people who have been there...
when I had my surgery I was in a cast for a while. I had a donor bone put in so that is probubly why. I had a couple of screws as well. you will be in quite a bit of pain for a little while and then it should get better I would ask for a nerve block if you can get it it will let you not be in as much pain for the first couple of days until it wares of.
Re: PTTD surgery scheduled.... questions for people who have been there... 
