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Ankle Replacement Surgery

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Ultraboxer
Ultraboxer

I would like to estabish contact with anyone who has undergone ankle replacement surgery and reflect a ittle on the aftereffects and the longer term prognoses for recovery and mobility.

Having undergone such an operation about 9 months ago I am currently coming to terms with a less than welcome (and certainly unexpected) imapct upon my life and mobility.

Issues such as lack of mobility, excessive swelling and cronic pain from the ankle itself but also from the toes and lack of sensation and feeling in parts of the foot are those I am facing and would like to know how other poeple have fared, both in the short and longer term.

16 likes, 848 replies

848 Replies

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  • dbee
    dbee Ultraboxer

    Posted

    Hello  Ultraboxer,

    Ive been reading your blog in full, and followed your progress right up to your operation at the Royal Orthopaedic, surgeon was Mr.Goldberg I believe. Im dismayed to hear of your subsequent pain as I thought you had it nailed and did not have all the after problems most people had.  Im at the point of considering this operation on my left ankle and have also been threading with Barb.  I even am trying to get a referral to the royal orthopaedic based on your experience thinking that it was down to the surgeon that performed it as I know it has to be very very accurate.  So now Im confused.  Im 68 yrs old pretty active with young grand children that I look after part time and cannot envisage months of pain and disability following this operation, but dont know what the alternative is.  Im not in pain as such at the moment but know it will get worse so my dilemma is wait or do it while joints are still relatively healthy.  Would love your thoughts on the whole process so far.

    • Barb2015
      Barb2015 dbee

      Posted

      Hi dbee - you are right to still take time andrsearch until you make your decision (if you are still mobile - my mobility strated to become a real problem just pre-surgery !). Where can I find Ultaboxer's full blog ?
    • jeffrey83275
      jeffrey83275 dbee

      Posted

      I was bone on bone for a couple years.  It was miserable.  Eventually it started hanging up.  I would wake up in the middle of the night and it would be locked in an excruciating position that would take me about 20 minutes to stretch it out to get some room to move it.  Literally, it was a lot better 3 months after surgery than those two years.  The thing is noone knows how long the replacement will last and what can be done after that so I wanted to postpone it as long as possible.  The Star was in use in Europe for 10 years before it was approved in the US and it was only about 6 months after that the my ankle started locking up.  By waiting, I was able to get a much better joint than the other ones approved here.  The quality of the surgeon is a factor in any surgery but all the joints that I looked at had tooling that would make it pretty hard to botch.  I am retired from IT but I have a machine shop that I run.  It was conforting to me to see that the surgeon woild folllow a very precise checklist.  The only variance was in sizing and that is not a complicated process either.
    • dbee
      dbee jeffrey83275

      Posted

      thanks for replying jeffrey, all info helps at the moment,  i have been given the option for replacement with a Wright Infinity replacement, anyone reading this if they have had this I would love to hear from them.
    • dbee
      dbee Barb2015

      Posted

      Hi Barb,  didnt you send me ultraboxers blog in the first place with a link which i cant seem to find now or are there two Barb2015 on this site?  The Barb ive been communicating with is from Liverpool.  Is that you?
    • lainey58
      lainey58 dbee

      Posted

      I had the Infinity replacement last June so I am 7 months on from the op.

      i was up and on crutches immediately and, after 2-3 weeks, was walking without them. All seems perfectly good now with some stiffness upon waking and numbness in the top area of the foot and big toe,  

      I walk my dog twice a day for at least an hr each time and am generally active. I am 59.

      Good luck to you dbee. Hope all goes well whatever you decide

    • lainey58
      lainey58

      Posted

      In addition ....my ankle is not swollen whatsoever and looks much the same as my other ankle now. I kept it raised up whenever I wasn't active and massaged it regularly using coconut oil which all helped to reduce swelling (I felt). I also don't carry any excess weight which I think helps.
    • dbee
      dbee lainey58

      Posted

      Hello  how great to hear a good success story - Ive read so many that have had awful after surgery pain, nerve pain  descriptions of shocking pain etc it has left me feeling very nervous about it.  I will be 68 this year and broke my ankle when I was about 36 it has been fine but now is arthritic.  Can you tell me more about why you had ankle replacement and where did you have it done.  thanks
    • lainey58
      lainey58 dbee

      Posted

      Hi dbee. In response, I had an accident when I was 19 which left my ankle in a bad way, dislocated and torn as well as pretty mashed. Luckily for me I was very close to a London teaching hospital and it was all put back together. I was unble to use it as it had to be raised up and was in a wheelchair at first before crutches but it healed fast as I was young and only really started to cause me pain around 30 yrs later. I put up with that for 10 years before opting for a Tar at north Tyneside Hospitsl in June this year. 

      Hope that helps. You will have to make your own decision but in the end it seemed like the best thing for me and turned out to be. 😊. 

      Hope that helps. All the best to you.

    • dbee
      dbee lainey58

      Posted

       thanks so much and Im so glad it turned out well for you.
    • kim30180
      kim30180 jeffrey83275

      Posted

      Your pain and situation sounds just like my Fiance.We have had the TAR for 7 weeks  now and he still has some pain and a lot of swelling. 50% weight bearing now, next week 75%, then a week of full weight bearing, THEN we start Physical Therapy. His only other option was fusion as he too was bone on bone with chips all through his ankle
  • rayner70214
    rayner70214 Ultraboxer

    Posted

    My op is eight weeks down the line.It was my left ankle.My big toe and the one next to it across the instep is completely numb.The pain is that bad that I watch the clock to when I can take medication again.How can you excersie when there is so so much swelling and pain.I just want to walk unaided but right now no where near it.
  • brian57538
    brian57538 Ultraboxer

    Posted

    Had my TAR done in August and still have problems with swelling and numbnes over the top of the foot and big toe but numbnes is gettting better and have good movment in the joint.

    Still think it was a good idea to go for a TAR and feel sure that the pain and swelling is less painful than the pre op state.

  • 123young
    123young Ultraboxer

    Posted

    I was in a car accident in 2014. I broke both legs and crushed one angle. I've had 4 surgeries, 1st day after accident, 2nd 6 months after as a screw broke, 3rd as another surgeon felt that a 3rd plate would fix my mushed ankle and a 4th for a fusion which was 6 months ago.

    All plates screws and hard wear were removed and now I am left with 2 screws holding the fusion in place and a rod holding my tibula in place.

    I honestly can say, I wish they had of amputed my broken tibula and crushed ankle leg at the time of the 1st surgery. I have not returned back to work, the fused ankle leg is shorter than the other leg which I broke the femur. I am in constant pain, even tho the xrays back in Jan were looking great. I am still taking high dose addictive pain meds every few days depending on my activity level. I have no movement in my ankle and have been wearing a walking boot cast since October.

    Any suggestions or support would be kindly welcomed.

  • peter090769
    peter090769 Ultraboxer

    Posted

    Hi everyone.

    Going in for operation number 8 tomorrow.

    Two keyhole surgeries

    2 TAR surgeries

    3 so called corrective surgeries.

    Tomorrow is an ankle fusion. Removing the TAR and filling the gap with a ports metal. One massive long screw going from my heel upwards, plus brackets and screws to keep it in place. Sure they said a bone graft from my hip too.

    He did say that if this doesn't work we could try once more before thinking of amputation.

    This has been ongoing for 10 years, I've taken so much medication that I've got an ulcer.

    But the one good thing is that a lady from the UK will see me after the operation to see if I'm a candidate for an idea brace. So I will keep my fingers crossed because I can't take this any longer. It has not only ruined my life and health but my relationship with my girlfriend of 15 years.

    Maybe one day I will wake up, that's if I sleep properly and be pain free.

    • LDT
      LDT peter090769

      Posted

      Hi Peter

      I hope all went well?.  I am in the same boat as you so lots of understanding and sympathy. I was at a surgeon a week ago and this is what they say they can do for me.

      Take out the prosthesis and fill the cavity with donor bone. Then take half of my fibula, grind it down and build two "pillars" on the sides, also a chance of taking extra bone from the hip, if needed. Then my ankle is fixated in an O-ring type  fixator with pins into the bone for up to 5 months, of which the first 6 weeks will be non-weight bearing (I decided at least 3 months instead of 6 weeks…very important to not spoil the growth) and hopefully the bone will fuse well. In time my body will absorb the donor bone and replace with own bone. The nice thing is that there are no pins and brackets, screws etc. involved.  My leg will only be about 2 cm shorter that the other. The bad thing is...going to take a lot time and living with an ankle bracelet  that is not very comfortable. Also huge risk of infection that needs to be managed very well.  Looking  at the grim possibilities when a TAR folds, I am cautiously optimistic. This particular surgeon has done 6 similar operations and all were successful., oldest patient 72 years of age.

      Please let me know how you are progressing Peter.

      Regards

      Leon

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