Hi. I am scheduled to have this surgery but have been pain free for the past month. Over the past year I have had pain on again off again to varying degrees. My stress xray clearly shows the stretched ligament and gap between my bones. I was very active in my teens and remained somewhat active into my 30's. I am now in my mid 40's and am much less active than I use to be. I have high arches and it is common to turn my ankle. I first saw the surgeon in September of 2010 after being in pain and limping for the 4 months prior to seeing him. Throughout my life ankle sprains have been common. At my appontment I was diagnosed with chronic ankle instability. I was given a brace and orthotics. My surgeon wanted to try these before thinking about surgery. In February I requested a follow up appointment because I was tired of the pain and had a constant limp. My appointment was on March 7th at which time I was pain free (its always the way!). The surgeon (who I like very much) has good reputation. I told him my on again off again pain was off again but was confident it would eventually comeback. He manually manipulated my ankle to once again demonstrate to me how unstable it was. He asked me what I wanted to do and I told him to fix it. Am I crazy? He's worried about my age and likelihood of arthritis setting in which would make ligament reconstruction difficult if not impossible. He plans on a Brostrom Procedure and Dwyer Osteotomy to prevent further damage. He wants to straighten the foot and repair the ligament. Because I'm pain free in the moment I'm having second thoughts. I'm not sure what to do. Please help. Am I really risking more damage and possibly long term complications without the surgery?
Last edited by Lilyfoot; 03-16-2011 at 01:39 PM.
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The Following User Says Thank You to Lilyfoot For This Useful Post: luv2Boutside (06-17-2012)
Re: Brostrom Repair and Dwyer Osteotomy in a month
i just had ankle surgery in early february. my surgeon did a procedure different from the brostrom because i had two missing ligaments (no ligament to repair). he used a hamstring allograft to stabilize the joint. i'll tell you that i am 33 and have had problems with spraining my ankle since i first tore ligaments when i was 12. i also wondered if i was making the right decision. the one thing that made me feel good about my decision is knowing that by doing this i am preventing ankle arthritis in the future. ankle arthritis can be very crippling and i want to be able to stay active for as long as possible. i got tired of turning it over and over and over again. my grandmother has ankle arthritis and when it flares up she can't walk at all. so i gave myself a chance to avoid that problem. i am still in a cam walker boot but i am very hopeful for a great summer!!
Re: Brostrom Repair and Dwyer Osteotomy in a moonth
Thank You Jackieculv. I have indeed decided to move forward with the Brostrom for the exact same reason. My dilemma now is the Dwyer Osteotomy. It seems very involved and because I'm not very active I'm not convinced its necessay. Also, my surgery is April 15th and a portion of the summer I'll still be rehabbing. Your response is more helpful than you know. Did you have the Dwyer as well? Good luck and I send best wishes for your summer.
Re: Brostrom Repair and Dwyer Osteotomy in a month
No, I didn't have the dwyer osteotomy. I would talk it over with your doctor again to get a better feel for his rationale behind the osteotomy. April isn't a terrible time to get a big surgery since there will be no ice! I had mine done during a snowstorm and three days after I slipped and stepped full weight onto my poor foot and it made me cry it hurt so much. It's much safer to do in the spring! Plus, by the time summer really heats up you will be at least out of the cast
Re: Brostrom Repair and Dwyer Osteotomy in a month
Hi,
I am 26 and am 9 week today post op after having a Brostrom repair and I am already thinking about having my other ankle done. i was in a cast for 6 weeks and in a walking book for 3 weeks so far another 3 to go but i am pain free and even thought i can’t walk on my ankle not in a walking boot i can tell there is a huge difference in the way my ankle feels. I have lose joints and growing up tripped and rolled my ankles all the time I never knew it was abnormal to roll your ankles I did it weekly if not more. It was not till I fell on ice Jan 2010 that I started having constant pain in my left ankle tried PT and had to do something. I did not have the other surgery you are talking about but I wish you well and keep us posted/ ask any questions you have. Also things I found really help full to have before surgery a knee walker, shower chair and a shower cover for your cast.
Re: Brostrom Repair and Dwyer Osteotomy in a month
Hi and thank you for the reply. Congrats on your great recovery. I already ordered a cast cover and shower chair. The knee walkers are kind of expensive. Did insurance pay for that? I am definitely having the Brostrom but don't expect to have the Dwyer which is actually ankle reconstruction. My surgeon has many question to answer before that procedure. He'll have to be really convincing. I'm sure I'll have more questions leading up to surgery (looks like it will be April 22) and during my healing process. My biggest concern is the summer. I have a beach vacation planned for the last week in July and really need to be done with PT by then. Time will tell. Thanks again and I'll keep you posted.
Re: Brostrom Repair and Dwyer Osteotomy in a month
I got my knee walker. it was about $225. also you can resell them for about $180 it cost about 90 a month to rent them and my insurance would not say if they would cover it or not till after they got billed. I did get a doctors note and put it though my flex spending account. as i am maybe looking at another ankle surgery i did not think it was a bad thing to buy one.
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Re: Brostrom Repair and Dwyer Osteotomy in a month
Hi I had my surgery on Fri 4/22. I am 2 days post op. So far I think everything is going as but I wasn't prepared for the bleeding. My doctor called me twice yesterday to see if the blood stain was getting bigger. Its the size of my hand and the bleeding seems to have stopped. I guess this is not uncommon but it has freaked me out a bit. Doc doesn't want to remove the dressing because its sterile but says I can come see him sometime during the week and he'll be happy to change my bandages and splint. He thinks he gave me enough percs (40) but I'm not so sure. How many days should I expect to need narcotics for this pain? In addition to the brostrom I also had a Dwyer osteotomy.
Re: Brostrom Repair and Dwyer Osteotomy in a month
I only had the brostrom repair and did not have any bleeding problems. I had surgery on Monday. Had a nerve block. No pain for 24 to 36 hours after surgery. so I took pain meds Tuesday night all day wen and Thursday and was off of them Friday I had 50 of them and was worried I was going to need more but have about 20 left over
Re: Brostrom Repair and Dwyer Osteotomy in a month
That's good to know. My nerve block wore off last night. My heel is the only place I felt pain in recovery. Healthboards has been a great asset. Thanks so much for your input. I'll keep posting my progress along the way.
Re: Brostrom Repair and Dwyer Osteotomy in a month
No proble ask any question I did my midle toe started turning black and blue and I started freeking out and people were so helpful. I am looking at a surgery on the other anankle if this one worked as my doctor is not 100% confident as my ligiuments were not as good as he was hoping for.... how long will you be in a cast?
Re: Brostrom Repair and Dwyer Osteotomy in a month
I will be in a cast for 8 weeks. After surgery they put on a two piece cast to allow for swelling. I go back in 2 weeks for the plaster cast which will stay on for 6 weeks. Right now I'm focusing on keeping my leg elevated. Watching lots of tv.
Re: Brostrom Repair and Dwyer Osteotomy in a month
Bleeding after surgery can definitely be scary. The surgeon warned my dad about it after my surgery, but it still freaked me out to see blood on the outside of my plaster cast. Logically, it makes sense that the bandage tends to wick blood away and it shows up on the outside, but there's just something about looking down and seeing blood.
The Following User Says Thank You to kehorner For This Useful Post: Lilyfoot (04-25-2011)
Re: Brostrom Repair and Dwyer Osteotomy in a month
I'm really interested reading about the plaster cast. I didn't know those were still in use. I had a calcaneal osteotomy, modified brostrom, and gastroc slide done in March. I had the bulky jones dressing after surgery (no bleeding at all) and then went right into fiberglass cast after 2 weeks when stitches came out.
I've had an incredibly rough experience that include hospitalization for pain control immediately following the procedure. It was originally outpatient and the nerve block wore off about 30 hours after I got home. Oxycodone and Norco (10/325) wasn't enough. Ended up in tears (very embarrassing). Spent 4 days in hospital on Dilauded, Oxy, Norco, and valium. I was able to stop the around-the-clock meds after about 10 days and change to one to two doses a day. I'm 5 weeks out today and still take 1.5 norco in the afternoon when my leg starts to act up. Trying to get off the meds as quickly as possible bc I'm worried about dependence. Pain just gets too bad though. I was told by the hospital staff that the calcaneal osteotomy is typically more painful for men than women. Didn't explain why though.
Good luck with your recovery. This forum has been incredibly helpful. Some really nice people on here that share their recovery stories.
Re: Brostrom Repair and Dwyer Osteotomy in a month
Hi. I'm sorry to hear you were in so much pain. It sounds like you've come a long way if you're down to 1..5 per day. As far as my cast.....every time I've asked about the next cast I've refererred to it as a plaster cast and I've never been corrected. Maybe it will be fiberglass. I'm in a plaster splint at the moment. My Dwyer osteotomy required 1 screw. Here's a question for you.....did they use titanium screws when doing your osteotomy? They did for me because I'm allergic to nickle. I only know that because certain earring posts produce a negative response (such as pain and a little bleeding in my earlobes). I ONLY know about my nickle allergy because of what happens when I wear earrings earrings that contain nickle. My surgery was actually delayed a bit because they had to wait for the titanium screws to arrive. Do you happen to know what kind of screws you have in your ankle. ONLY TITANIUM IS NICKLE FREE. Just out of curiosity you should ask what kind of metal was used during surgery. You may or may not know if you're allergic to nickle. If you are.....and anything but titanium were used you would most likely have a reaction (like severe pain and/or swelling). Like I said.....if I never wore earrings I would never know about my nickle allergy. All I know is......they held up my surgery waiting for nickle free screws. Also, because more women than men wear earrings we tend to know about any nickle allergy we might have. That said.....of course men experience more pproblems with an osteotomy. If I were not allergic to nickle a chromium cobalt screw would have been used instead of titanium. But.....that type of screw has trace amounts of nickle. I wish you all the best but can't stress enough to ask about the hardware used suiting your surgery. I wish you all the best in your recovery. I will definitely keep you posted about my next cast. I get it put on May 5th. Please post again after you find out about the screws in your ankle.
Re: Brostrom Repair and Dwyer Osteotomy in a month
Most of the time, after you're out of the post-surgical splint, they will put you in a fiberglass cast. They are lighter, dry faster, and are more water-resistant.
Plaster casts are used more often immediately following injury or surgery, because the doctor can mold it a lot better to hold the limb in a particular position.
My surgeon put me in a plaster cast immediately following surgery (instead of a splint). I was supposed to keep it for 2 weeks, but it lasted less than 24 hours because it was so heavy that it was pulling on my foot and causing a lot of pain. I would never want another plaster cast. They literally take 2 days to dry, so the whole day and night after surgery, the cast was damp and getting any pillows that I propped it up on wet.
Re: Brostrom Repair and Dwyer Osteotomy in a month
Hi Again. So as often happens my crutch slipped out from under me which lead me to an early follow up. No damage to surgical repair. I was able to get stitches removed and got a fiberglass cast! Oh boy what a relief to have the plaster splint removed. The fiberglass feels weightless in comparison. Recovery is going fairly well. The hard part is behind me. One more week of NWB. So far so good. Ankle is "achy" but I think that's from slamming it to the floor when the crutch slipped. My surgeon is thrilled with how my foot looks. He manipulated my ankle to demonstrate how much tighter it is. Even I was impressed. Hopefully the good progress continues. I'll keep posting as recovery moves along.
Re: Brostrom Repair and Dwyer Osteotomy in a month
Hi Lilyfoot,
First of all thanks for your post and updates. I am finally glad after all this searching to find someone in a similar situation as mine. I too have high arches but have not had any problems up until the last 3 months.
Pain just happened on outside of my foot when walking (putting weight on ball of my foot). No real history of ankle sprains or injury. Had MRI which showed multiple partial tears in brevis tendon and frayed longus tendon. Was in boot for 1 month and aircast for 2 weeks with PT. No improvement whatsoever. Pain is kinda on again off again depending on my level of activity. I am 42 and active in softball, biking, hiking, camping, snowboarding, etc. I also get these weird pins and needles/tingly sensations down the outside of my leg into my foot.
So...went back to ortho surgeon (also highly recommended) after the 6 week mark, he said i could try orthotics but they would be expensive and probably not helpful, just repair the tendons (but due to the underlying abnormality of high arches and a rigid heel) they may just tear again, OR have a Dwyer osteotomy, tendon repair, release of the soft tissue and also fix my big toe.
I am very scard to have this done, but know it's probably what needs to be done.
Are you back to your previous level of activity? Do you still have pain? Do you think you made the right decision? Most people who have had similar surgery (even for different problem) seem to have recovered nicely. Even if it did take close to a year. My OS said to expect at least 4 months before any improvement and close to a year before normal.
Your posts have been so helpful and I would love to hear from you.
Re: Brostrom Repair and Dwyer Osteotomy in a month
Quote:
Originally Posted by luv2Boutside
Hi Lilyfoot,
First of all thanks for your post and updates. I am finally glad after all this searching to find someone in a similar situation as mine. I too have high arches but have not had any problems up until the last 3 months.
Pain just happened on outside of my foot when walking (putting weight on ball of my foot). No real history of ankle sprains or injury. Had MRI which showed multiple partial tears in brevis tendon and frayed longus tendon. Was in boot for 1 month and aircast for 2 weeks with PT. No improvement whatsoever. Pain is kinda on again off again depending on my level of activity. I am 42 and active in softball, biking, hiking, camping, snowboarding, etc. I also get these weird pins and needles/tingly sensations down the outside of my leg into my foot.
So...went back to ortho surgeon (also highly recommended) after the 6 week mark, he said i could try orthotics but they would be expensive and probably not helpful, just repair the tendons (but due to the underlying abnormality of high arches and a rigid heel) they may just tear again, OR have a Dwyer osteotomy, tendon repair, release of the soft tissue and also fix my big toe.
I am very scard to have this done, but know it's probably what needs to be done.
Are you back to your previous level of activity? Do you still have pain? Do you think you made the right decision? Most people who have had similar surgery (even for different problem) seem to have recovered nicely. Even if it did take close to a year. My OS said to expect at least 4 months before any improvement and close to a year before normal.
Your posts have been so helpful and I would love to hear from you.
Hello. I have neen post op now for 14 months. My ankle no longer turns over on me. Overall, I can say I'm pleased with the results of my surgery. Once you make the decision to proceed with surgery you should change your focus. Start preparing by setting up your house; clear pathways, cast cover and shower stool, hand held shower head installed? Reading material, music, movies close by the are where you will be recovering. Practice positive thoughts and let people know you'll be needing help; whatever that might be. Cooking, walking the dog, bringing coffee. Whatever you need......ask. You're Peeps will step up for you. Good luck. Remember.....pratice patience.
The Following User Says Thank You to Lilyfoot For This Useful Post: luv2Boutside (06-17-2012)
Re: Brostrom Repair and Dwyer Osteotomy in a moonth 
Re: Brostrom Repair and Dwyer Osteotomy in a month 
