Posted , 37 users are following.
Hi!
Has anyone had ankle ligamnet reconstruction surgery? I damaged my ligaments in Sept 14 and have been on crutches ever since. At the beginning of Dec I had my surgery and now 4 weeks on, the pain/restriction feels the same 
.
I would love to hear from anyone in the sme situation, or anyone who has any tips.
Thanks
0 likes, 79 replies
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jeff65342 laura87716
Posted
Laura, I had this surgery way back in 1975. My doctor was thinking of fusing my ankle but Tommy John had just had his elbow surgery done and my doctor decided to take a chance on the same basic procedure. I have a scar that crosses the top of my foot, goes around my ankle and half way up my lower leg. A tendon was stripped down and split with half re attached and then holes drilled thru all my ankle bones and the remaining tendon weaved and pinned creating new ligaments..I spent 8 months in bed rather than the original estimate of 6 weeks as i developed brusitis and couldn't put my foot to the floor.. I will say that the surgery has been a complete success though I did give up sports as I didn't want to take chances. My advice is to see a physical therapist as you might have some scaring . Good Luck.
enrico11948 laura87716
Posted
i find this discussion very helpful.
4 months ago i fractured my ankle and spent 1 week in backslab splint + 2 months nwb in the boot. i never recovered stability and booked a scan for the ligaments.
now i seriously broke the same foot, yesterday x-ray was taken and the ankle is fractured as well. also the time spent on crutches after the old injury caused osteoporosis. prognosis is full cast and then walking cast for a total 10 weeks.
later i'll see a surgeon for second opinion, i'm worried about the ligaments. is it possible to fix them w/o touching the bones? (at moment we choose to avoid surgery)
or how long should i wait to have a precise idea of the effective recovery?
other things to ask to the surgeon?
kristina73093 laura87716
Posted
I had lateral ligament reconstruction with peroneal tendon transfer 2 months ago. I also had a talus lesion dealt with as well.
I was 6 weeks non weight bearing, was walking in the boot with a walker on the 5th of this month . Was supposed to be in the boot until the 21st.
An accident on the 5th has now set me back. The pain and swelling 2 weeks later is horrible.
I was up with the Walker today, but the pain is so bad, I can't take more than a few steps.
My surgeon says there's nothing wrong, the x-ray says otherwise. It shows a talar injury .
Im in rehab for another month, and spent 2 and a half weeks in hospital after surgery, not 1 night as expected.
Im concerned about this, im certainly not a textbook case.
Ankle_Surgery laura87716
Posted
Laura87716 & Dazsav my feeling is exatcly like yours, Im at end of week 7, I have the same problem now, How you are doning, can you walk normaly, can you squad & doreflex? I was totally ok, just a sprain becouse of bad boot, & after that feeling of give away... I done MRI, It says torn of CFL and a tear of ATFL, !? Then I do surgery, doctor is telling me he had used a tendon from brevis muscle I think, now Im unable to walk in week 7, I can not doreflex or a little squad? What have you done? Its first week out of cast? What to do to fix it?
laura87716 Ankle_Surgery
Posted
Ankle_Surgery laura87716
Posted
My ankle was OK, My hobby is walking and runnning, but after wearing a bad boot I got sprain in a small hole, after that I felt sometimes my ankle is giving away easily, my doctor said I should do surgery, Now in week 7 after 6 week cast, I can not walk yet, when I want to stand straight I feel a real stretch in bottom back of my foot & also huge pressure on top of the ankle, doctor said I should be able to walk in two week but now I can not even move the ankle, so I called him & begged for a sesion, tommorow I'm going to see him... I'm single so I came back to my mom & dad house and they are caring of me, I feel deppreseed but really don't want to bother these my loves, after reading your text I feel in tears after years hiddenly in my room... now I don't want to do jogging anymore, I just want to have a longterm health, maybe I switch to swimming... You are the angle now, I searched a lot to find someone to talk with about this.
Ankle_Surgery
Posted
Im a little better, doc is telling me that I should wait... its almost more than 50 days after surgery, an two weeks out oc cast... I walk with very smal steps, it has pain, but everyone is telling me its normal... & It takes time...
shari17015 laura87716
Posted
Hello everyone
I am getting ready for ankle surgery, I have completely torn the deltoid, collateral ligaments, also cartilage damage and tendon damage. They are using allografts all over my ankle and doing micro fracture and removing an is trigumn bone that grew. I've been spraining my ankles since I was a kid. Has anyone else had this much work done? How much pain did you have?
oscar80077 laura87716
Posted
i also will have ligament reconstruction performed soon.
i recently broke and dislocated the foot but never recovered. now it's very unstable and i can walk with a limp only using ankle brace.
physio and the specialist suggested surgery.
i was surprised to learn it will require 8 weeks in the boot non walking, but reading your experience it isn't unusual.
shari17015 oscar80077
Posted
oscar80077 shari17015
Posted
i still don't know the day. could be between 9th and 16th, based on urgencies. i want to have it performed asap, today i tried walking w/o brace and the foot kept giving out. i'm using crutches now.
i really can't think your disconfort, probably your surgery will be much more serious than mine. i hope you won't need the cast with foot pointing downward that i saw applied on patients with ligament injuries, it looks unconfortable!
i'm more worried by immobilization than the pains.
shari17015 oscar80077
Posted
I'll be fine with the Immobilization i had hip surgery in July. I ordered one of those wlevatedfoam cushions S for legs through Amazon and an cryotherapy machine. My doc said 2 weeks bed rest and elevation he wants no swelling when I come in for post op visit.
oscar80077 shari17015
Posted
i had a bit of luck, last monday i recived a call from doctor. explained that the waiting list had shortened and i could anticipate the surgery.
was a good surprise because my foot was more and more unstable.
after the surgery there was a bit of pain but much less than i esperienced when the fracture occurred, so you shouldn't be worried.
my leg was splinted and elevated up in air and the swelling reduced fast. for a comparison after the break the splint was very unconfortable and swollen.
this morning the swelling was reduced enough, the wound was cleaned (it's very small). but i could feel that every touch/movement hurt. infact surgeon explained that the damage was severe so the boot was out of question, i was casted below knee. nwb for next 5 weeks.
i'm not surprised. i must say that even cast application was nearly pain free. so i'm happy i decided to have surgery asap.
shari17015 oscar80077
Posted
I had my surgery Monday. They were late didn't start operating until 3:30. Was in there for 2.5 hrs.
They removed a 2.5 inch bone spur and they fixed the ligaments and tendons. They found out I broke my ankle too.
oscar80077 shari17015
Posted
how long will you stay in cast?
my ankle feels ok in the cast, i can move toes without pain and i can rest the foot on the ground without eccessive swelling.
shari17015 oscar80077
Posted
I go Tuesday for cast change. I just went Monday as I slipped on the ice and broke my cast. I went to breakfast yesterday and to the store and I was miserable I took pictures of the nice ugly scar I have.
I'm guessing 6 more weeks. How long do you have to be in yours?
shari17015
Posted
shari17015 oscar80077
Posted
How is your pain level? I'm having a lot of pain and still experiencing a lot of swelling. It's been 2 weeks.
oscar80077 shari17015
Posted
i suffered swelling only the first week after surgery, pain instead has never been a problem. only once my crutch sipped and my foot hurt really bad when i put it down. all in all my ankle feels better than it did after the fracture. but i only did ligaments repair.
shari17015 oscar80077
Posted
I've started with really nasty nerve pain I believe. It kept me up all night I ended up taking the cam boot off it was so bad. I'm not suppose to have it off. I'm not suppose to be weight bearing, but it's getting difficult as my friends were around and all of sudden life happens plans change I'm alone. I have 3 dogs 4 cats... plus my out door cats.
I have follow up doc on Tuesday so I am going to ask for lyrica for the nerve pain and of course more drugs. At the prescribed way they are lasting two weeks.which it sucks. The insurance only allows 60.