Oct 2010 I went to see the doc about severe feet pains. I was referred to a peditroitst he gave me orthopedic insoles and told me I would be fine. These did not work and when I went back to the doc he was no longer there and I saw another doc that told me I had Hammer Toes on digits 2,3,4 on the left and right foot and also that I was severe flat footed and I believe she said I was pronated. Well in the next 2 months I returned and saw her and another doc that she worked with. January 2011 I had Hammer Toe correction on my left foot digits 2 had an implant and digits 3 &4 had K-wire that came out the end. I was sent home and off work for 3 weeks. That foot seemed to heal ok so them in March or April I had surgery on my right foot I was given the choice of k-wire or implants. I chose the implants due to the last surgery the implants recover better with much less pain (I stress much less) at this time they also did a subtalar Joint Implant. They told me recovery once again was 3 weeks and to not be weight bearing. My 3rd and final surgery was in June 2011 I had the subtalar Joint Implant implanted into my Left foot. Surgery seemed to go five I was told to stay off of it for a week then gradually put weight on it. One month later I was released onto full duty and was told I was fine. Well I am in the military and this means passing the PT test and working out a lot. I had minor pains (where the subtalar implant is) in the beginning but was told this is normal. The pain didn’t seem to go away. I seemed worse on the left foot. I returned back to the doctor and she said I was fine but put me on light duty (Aug 2011). The Pain is now in both feet and UN tolerable. I have spasms of pain out of nowhere, can’t fun 10 feet or walk 20 feet without pain. I went back on the 20 of Sept and she feels as though the implants need to come out and I will be ok.
My thought is has these implants done damage to the nerves or joint? I asked for a second opinion and told I would get on this week but haven’t heard back to receive one.
I would find another Dr. altogether (either a podiatrist or orthopaedic suregoen) for a second opinion, even a thrid opinion if necessary.
YOU are your best advocate. Don't let your Dr. tell you things are "fine" when you know they aren't.
Oh, I see. So I guess you will have to wait for another military Dr. for 2nd opinion. I would make a list of questions you want answered with respect to your healing and any discomfort. This is what I'm going to do when I go to my Dr. next week...I'm going to write my concerns on a sheet of paper so I don't forget to ask when I see him.
Be firm about how you are feeling and what is going on with your feet. Don't let him/her tell you things are ok when you truly know that they are not.
Sorry to hear you are having problems with your surgeries. As far as subtalar joint implants, I will tell you this. They are typically not used in adults and are almost always for use in children. This is because a child's foot will adapt better and the realignment can allow the tendons and ligaments to function to support the arch better. Essentially allow the growing child to adapt to this corrected position. They almost always will have to be removed in children at the age when they stop growing because they become painful. The implant causes realignment of the subtalar joint and also limits pronation. If your foot wants to pronate, the implant may cause pain because it is blocking motion that naturally wants to occur. A flexible child's foot is much more forgiving and able to adapt to this block in motion. Adult feet typically are not.
The subtalar joint inplant is placed between the talus and the calcaneus. In actuality it is not within the joint but within a tunnel between the two bones. I doubt you have had any damage to the joint because of this. There are no major nerve branches that run in that area either. You most certainly need the implants removed. You should feel some relief after that, but the question is will you get 100% relief. Most likely, your foot will return to the flat position with excessive pronation that you had prior to the surgery.
Were you having pain in your ankle or arch prior to the implants being placed? If not, there was no reason to put the implants in. If you were, they should have performed a more typical surgery for flatfoot repair, which involved bone cuts and tendon repair. This physician either wanted to take the easy way out or doesn't know how to perform a proper flatfoot reconstruction. In either case, I would have the physician remove the implants and see how you do after that. You may benefit from custom orthotics prior to deciding if you need a more extensive flatfoot reconstructive surgery. If that is needed, a second opinion is the way to go.
The Following User Says Thank You to j9879 For This Useful Post: operationdupied (02-17-2012)
I had custom orthotics before surgery and they didn't help. And yes I was having major pain in my arch. It felt as though my arch was ripping. It was horrible.
I already have custom orthotics, The only help they have been is i have stopped rolling my ankel frequently. I was in lots of pain before surgery. It felt as though my arch was ripping.
Ok so a update. I had been receiving injections in my ankle but they were only killing the pin for 2-4 days and that obviously wasn't working. So I received a second opinion and i ended up getting having Calcaneal Osteotomy and Achilles tendon lengthening. Last week. Its not hurting to bad pain killer are keeping the pain away.
Any thought or comments?
It sounds like you finally got the surgical procedure that has the best potential of correcting your foot alignment issues. I just had flatfoot surgery 1 week ago ( medializing calcaneus osteotomy, 1st TMT fusion, and gastroc lengthening) and my healing is going well.
You are on the pathway to recovery so just follow your surgeons orders and postoperative protocol.
I'm still healing from my surgery in November. I had to get the screw removed last week due to it backing out. Starting about 3 weeks ago I started having pain going up and down my leg like a shooting pain. Maybe some how this is relative to the screw and it will go away. My Lynne's have started to hurt as I become more active. Hopefully all goes well and my surgery on my next foot is soon.
Surgery complications 
