Hi, I am due surgery on Jan 26th and still have no information as to what is going to happen to me and how long the recovery times will be.
I have completely ruptured all the ligaments in my right ankle, and they are being replaced using tendons from a dead person. I will be under general anaesthetic. Other than that i do not know anything about this operation or its recovery times.
I had my pre-op last october and the woman was useless and wouldnt tell me anything.
Your best estimate is that you will be non-weight bearing about 10-12 weeks. You will probably be in a cast or boot for at least 4-6 weeks. It will be painful when you start to walk and it won't be until about 4 mos post op that you will start to feel like you made the right decision about surgery. You won't be able to run or do anything like that until at least 5 mos post op. By a year, you will feel pretty good though.
The pain isn't too bad after the first couple of days. The key is to keep your foot elevated. If it is down it will THROB and hurt and turn purple. Turning purple is normal. Just put it back up.
On 10/17/11, I had a Modified Brostrom-Gould repair on my right ankle. I also had a Ganglion Cyst removed. My doctor also scoped the ankle to "clean it out" and fix anything else that was wrong. I was under general anesthesia.
Here are my previous threads on it:
http://www.healthboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=875299
http://www.healthboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=878727
After surgery, my foot was in a bandage/gauze/partial cast/Ace Wrap. On 10/24/11, I went for my 1st post op. They gave me new bandages and an Ace Wrap. They also gave me a MaxTrax Walker (I didn't wear it at night). My doctor took out my stitches on 11/7/11. A few weeks after surgery, my doctor told me to change my bandage/gauze/Ace wrap every day. I had to put some topical medicine on it. I had to do that for about 2 weeks. Later on, my doctor gave me a sandal/shoe thing to wear.
Now, I just wear my regular shoe. Sometimes I use an ACE Wrap for swelling. I don't have the bandages or gauze anymore. I still need the crutches and gradually put weight on my foot. I started physical therapy about 3 weeks ago.
For pain/swelling, I use oxycodone, Anacin, or diclofenac. For nausea, I have ginger pills, atarax, or phenergan. I also keep my foot elevated and ice it. I still have pain, swelling, and discomfort.
wow! i didnt expect to be non weight bearing for so long, but then again i think im under estimating how big this operation is. Thanks for the advice about keeping it elevated to prevent circulation problems. i'm being a bit impatient and should just wait until next week to find out info, but sometimes its nice to hear from others who have been through it.
I had a similair surgery on Dec 12 except they used my own tendons and a screw for greater stability. I was in a surgical splint for two weeks got stitches out and am now in a hard cast at an estimate of 12 weeks- not excited for this part- and then a walking boot for about 6 weeks with a couple months of physical therapy. Keep in mind these are just estimates I am only in the hard cast stage, but this is what my doctor told me to expect.. I hope this helped!
The Following User Says Thank You to lovemyarmyman For This Useful Post: nightmare ankle (01-12-2012)
Hey i can only tell you about the begining of the recovery as i only had ligament reconstruction on the 5th of december, i stayed in the hospital over night but that just as my surgery was in the afternoon, the pain wasnt too bad as i had a nerve block before the surgery, from reading other peoples posts they said it was a good idea .. And it was lol. first 2 weeks i was in a back slab and aslong as you take the painkillers and keep it elevated there isnt really much pain, i then had my full cast put on and get it off next week (so excited) lol so i was only no weight bearing for 6 weeks which isnt too bad. Ill be put into a boot when my cast comes off and then get myself walking without the crutches which they said should take 2 weeks maximum. Im not sure when physio starts or the rest of the recovery so would also be intersted in anyone elses recovery as im awaiting going back to college to finish my course in performing arts, its really practical and quite intense exersie so if anyone could tell me how long it took for them to do intense exercise would be great, hope this helped xx
Last edited by Actress134; 01-11-2012 at 04:13 PM.
Hi,
I had ligament reconstruction on my left foot February 3rd, and would definitely get the block again. The first 4 weeks I was in a split cast, NWB. Then they took the cast off and and I can walk (slowly and painfully)! I am concerned that 6 weeks post op, I'm still in major pain. My doc wants me to be weaning off pain meds, but since I started walking 10 days ago, I'm in even more pain. I don't know if this is normal. I will say to block off more recovery time than you think you need!
Ankle ligament reconstruction surgery? 
