Boot Cast help - PLEASE
Posted , 4 users are following.
so i had my three week checkup and stitches are out. everything looks good on xray healing well and my second cast went on. I was feeling so rushed. the cast guy put the fiberglass on so tight and i told him it was too tight. he said bend your ankle as it was forming and told me to go home and come back in 3 weeks. by the time i got home (i live far from the hospital) now i went home and my foot is excrucisting and turned blue! my husband carefully cut the cast off and i have an air cast from a previous injury that i carefully put my foot into.
has anyone else used an air cast at WEEK 3? i cant go back in! my concern is the positioning of the foot.
i had osteomy and bunion removal
laura
0 likes, 16 replies
Kenora44
Posted
will it heal properly in an air cast? i have one pin too.
jessica_09833 Kenora44
Posted
hi! I'm so sorry you're having this issue! i was just in for my 6 week check up today. My second 6 week check up in 4 months. i went from immobile to a walking boot my first surgery after 3 weeks and it did not heal correctly. I had to have 2 screws replaced with a plate and 6 screws. please go get a new cast put on, and don't leave until you are comfortable. You were definitely right to cut it off, but it was put on because your doc felt it was necessary. I hope I'm not sounding harsh I just don't want anyone to have yo deal with what my life has been the past 4 months! hope this helps! please keep me updated!
Kenora44 jessica_09833
Posted
did you walk in your foot after three weeks?
you are not sounding harsh at all i appreciate you sharing your experience.
jessica_09833 Kenora44
Posted
I was put in a big knee-high boot about 3 weeks after my first surgery. I was able to walk only in the boot and only with weight on my heel. The second surgery I went for my 2 week check up and was put directly in a hard cast as to not screw anything else up (no pun intended lol) for another 2 weeks. I was able to walk in the cast with the shoe for the cast, again only on the heel which ended up being very uncomfortable due to the bone graft that was needed after the failed first surgery. My doctor is an orthopedic who specializes in foot and ankle and he has been wonderful. Its been a long road and I know it will be longer still, but even after all of it I don't regret my decision at all!
Kenora44 jessica_09833
Posted
wow! sounds like you have had a tough go! hopefully things are better for you moving forward. i will not put weight on my foot for 3 more weeks as not to damage the healing so far. my foot is still too unstable. so non weight bearing for 6 weeks in total. i find it amazing how so many of us on the forum get the same surgery but there are so many different responses from surgeons.
jessica_09833 Kenora44
Posted
It has most definitely been tough, but worth it! I hope your healing process goes smoothly! please keep us posted!
couchpotato Kenora44
Posted
hi kenora
i had a bunionectomy and osteotomy as well and one screw put in. after surgery i was given a boot which i was advised to keep on at all times.
i had my 2 week check in on monday and he said its looking great he removed stitches and advised me to continue icing it and keeping it elevated.
i keep a cotton sock on with a bandage over the incision sight and thats pretty much it .
i wonder why you need a cast
maybe for the healing with the pins?
Kenora44 couchpotato
Posted
couch potato... i am assuming you are not walking on it yet?
couchpotato Kenora44
Posted
correct still elevated and icing it.
Kenora44 couchpotato
Posted
oh i have been corrected! i thought pins and screws were the same thing. i only have one screw no pins.
Kenora44
Posted
strange indeed! i just Talked to an orthopedic surgeon last night and he said that when he does the surgeries his patients don’t need a cast after the three weeks but absolutely non-weight-bearing for three more weeks as long as i am careful and not to stub my toe at all or it coukd break the screw and the cast is to help that no further damage is done during the healing process. makes sense! he said an air cast is overkill but would work just fine. was definitly a pain to sleep with it on. love Canadas free health care but as everything goes... if you pay more you get better service 😦 plus casts are not free, crutches, and on and on! bugs me i paid for a cast that had to be removed! why dont they listen to their patients???? plus the xray tech hit my foot by accident of course, then left me in a hallway uncasted for two hours until i said to someone walking by "did they forget about me?" and sure enough they did! the doc got called into surgery and said she needed to pump out 5 patients in 10 min. sad!!!
couchpotato Kenora44
Posted
wow! i know if i called my drs office and had an experience like that id get a refund of some kind and be appreciated foe letting them know of their actions. its worth a try!
msruby Kenora44
Posted
I had a Lapidus fusion along with a McBride Bunionectomy and Austin Osteotomy with 3 screws put in. I was in a stiff half cast dressing for two weeks and only allowed 10 minutes a day to go to the restroom. The rest of the time, I was to lie in bed with my surgical foot elevated with a deep vein thrombosis machine attached.
Two weeks later, I had the half cast removed and was put in a fiberglass cast for four more weeks, but allowed to be more mobile on a scooter and crutches (but absolutely non-weight bearing - foot does not touch the floor ever!).
Four weeks after that (six weeks past the surgery), I was put in an aircast boot and only allowed to put 10% weight on it for another two weeks, walking with crutches. I had to sleep with the damn boot.
I finally got rid of the boot last week (eight weeks after surgery), was cleared to start PT a couple of days later and was able to walk without crutches after one day. It is nine weeks past the surgery now and I am able to drive, go up the stairs and ride a bike.
At first, I thought 8 weeks non weight bearing was really extreme, after reading how people on this forum were able to go in a boot after 3 weeks. I asked my orthopedic surgeon and he said he tends to be on the conservative side to avoid any risk of complications. It was frustrating at times, but the recovery to walking has been faster than I thought and I don't regret not pushing my foot for the 8 weeks. It does take a lot of patience.
HOWEVER, if your cast was too tight, it was correct to have it removed. The surgeon can put seams and notches on it to loosen it, but keeping it on tight can really affect your healing. Hopefully you can get a new one put on soon to stabilize it and protect it.
Kenora44 msruby
Posted
wow! that is amazing how your recovery has been. my doc said three more weeks and i will be walking but i am not to baby the foot at all when she does clear me. ugh i cant get an apot till nov 19
Kenora44
Posted
my doc also said do whatever i want as long as the foot doesn't touch the floor. thank you! i am def on the cautious side and have not put my foot down on the floor st all! i will be extremely careful
msruby Kenora44
Posted
Haha, I shuffled successfully across the floor two days before the 8 week mark, told my doctor and got reprimanded, but after 8 weeks, they wanted me to start extreme PT. It was hard, the PT was pushing and pulling my big toe back and forth, to the point I was almost crying. He made me try to walk at the first session. I didn't think it would be possible, but he knew I was ready by testing out my pain and strength levels. He convinced me it was a mental block and I was walking by the end of the hour session. My foot swelled up horribly that night, but its been less after each session.
Long story short, if you take care of your foot during the non weight bearing period, you will be back on your feet a lot faster! I am having the same surgery on my left foot next week on 11/7 (10 weeks after the right foot surgery), and was really concerned about being able to support crutches on my healing right foot. But I'm walking pain free only a week after my non weight bearing period was lifted (3 PT sessions).
So hang in there, follow your doctor's orders and get physical therapy. It will get better! Feel free to ask me any questions. I'm facing another 8 non weight bearing weeks after 11/7, so I'll have lots of time!