Broken ankle 3wks post surgery
Posted , 10 users are following.
hi there it would be such a relief to hear back from anyone who is recovering from ankle surgery .
i fell from a loft resulting in a dislocation two breaks either side and a fracture in the middle apparently it was what they class a bad break !
i had to wait 2weeks for surgery because there simply wasnt any way they could fit me in due to a lot of emergencies but 2wks later i had surgery and now with a plate and pins either side i am now 3wks on wondering if all the things i am feeling are normal? im expecting to feel pain and swelling but it would be so good to just hear from others going through the same thing ? x
0 likes, 17 replies
RichardKen tracy51603
Posted
Very sorry to hear about. your. pains. I suggest raising your ankle above your head and wrapping iced stretch bandages around the ankle for relief.
Good luck, Richard
cynnmarie tracy51603
Posted
I broke my right ankle in three places February 2nd, and had surgery February 11th. I have a plate and 7 screws on the outside of my ankle, and two pins on my inner ankle.
I wasnt put in a cast after surgery. I left the hospital in a boot and was told I could take it off and was given ankle exercises to do- just absolutely no WB. My foot was pretty much out in the open the entire. The pain after surgery lasted about 3 days, the swelling about 1 week.
I started to partial WB at 6 weeks and fully WB at 8 weeks. I went back to work at 9 weeks and life pretty much returned to normal at that point.
I did have a limp for about a month after starting to fully WB. but I am happy to say that my limp is gone and im doing everything I was able to do previous to my injury. It takes time but it does get better ❤ I remember in the weeks following my surgery I was do discouraged thinking life would never be "normal" again. BUT here I am! normal and with more appreciation for the ability to walk! LOL! I wish you a speedy recovery!! xoxo
amy63849 cynnmarie
Posted
Hi,
Thank you so much for sharing! Your post helped me a lot as I was questioning how come I didn't come out with a cast! I came out with a back slab and was told to remove it for moving around at home and start doing ankle pumps my third day post ORIF for fracture fibular and syndesmosis. I just got the surgery on 6/20/19. My leg is out in the open too just have the bandages covering my incision areas which is dry and no drainage. My injured foot feels extra stiff and dry and numb mainly on the top and one toe. I do not have any pain because I elevate my foot pretty much all day. I use my crutches for the Bathroom and down and up stairs for dinner. As soon as my lef is down though, boom, a burning sensation floods down it and feels so heavy and painful. Anyway, I just want to know that the numbness is normal and the fact that I don't have a cast or a boot is normal!? It seems as it is! So thank you!
cynnmarie amy63849
Posted
numbness is normal. Everyone's body responds/reacts to healing differently. my actually ankle was numb around the outter ankle bone for weeks following the surgery. Aches and pains here and again but nothing excrutiating (minus the night after surgery- that was HORRIBLE) but if I would press on that one specific bone it was numb. It is anymore but I can feel the screw heads through my skin. Its pretty cool lol. The only time I got that burning sensation was when I would stand up with my crutches and my leg was straight down. My foot would turn a bright purple and it felt so strange.... and heavy like you said. Thats normal. There was also one time a week or so where my mom took me to Ben and Jerrys and I slipped and fell directly on my foot !!! I had my boot on but still. THANKFULLY no damage was done! I actually went out and about quite a few times during my recovery. All the rest of the time I was laid up on my couch with bare foot elevated! I was so concerned when I wasnt sent home in a cast but a boot, and even more so when I was told I didnt really need wear it unless I was out and about. AND EVEN MORE SO when my surgeon told me to do ankle excercises starting the very next day! lol. but Im so thankful he did because I have needed no PT and my range of motion is 95%+ . I mean there's really only a limited of times where I feel the effects of the injury. One is in the morning when I wake up, my ankle is super stiff. I cant just jump out of bed like I used to. It takes a few to warm it up and get it going. and two- when Im coming down the stairs. I cant just flow down like I used to. Its weird. I have to think about if that makes sense. All in all life is normal! I dont have any limitations 😃
amy63849 cynnmarie
Posted
so I shouldn't be concerned about my leg just being out all the time at home? even to the bathroom for the first two weeks post op? i put on a backslab given to me when i flew home but thats it. I am worried that while I am not hitting anything with it, the hardware and move around and stuff. other people have told me that its weird not to have anything but a back slab.
cynnmarie amy63849
Posted
i mean it is weird especially because youre not in a cast. I would be concerned if you accidentally hit your foot or fell while getting to and from the bathroom. but I was the same way. going up and down the stairs (my shower) was upstairs and getting to the bathroom I would have my foot out in the open as well. So I wouldnt worry too much. I only put my boot on when I left my house. I didnt even use it to sleep. I found a way to comfortably fall asleep on my side with my injured ankle resting on my other foot! I dont think you have anything to worry about love!
amy63849 cynnmarie
Posted
ok! wow! the start of you recovery journey is similar to me! im in bed most of the time but go downstairs and upstairs and to the bathroom without my splint. my leg feels tight and stiff still and when i have my leg down, theres that minor burning sensation. hearing you with no boot or nothing around the house makes me feel so much more confident in the surgery recovery plan i received. i will put on my splint everytime i go out of the house. just in case, i bump into something! thank you!!! getting
cynnmarie tracy51603
Posted
keep you foot elevated! and ice on and off. 20 mins on- 20 off! Thats what helped me find the best relief !!!
kenneth_06543 tracy51603
Posted
hello tracy, sorry to hear about your ankle injury. i broke my ankle in 3 places, orif surgery, 7 screws, 2 plates july 12th 2017. i felt the same way that you feel now that i will never be the same again. well i can tell you that i'm doing great. 50 yrs old and weight lifting and running the way i used to without any pain st all. everyone heals differently but stay positive and do your physical therapy and most of all be patient.
tracy51603 kenneth_06543
Posted
hi kenneth
thank you so much fir your kind and supportive message x
good news i am finally out of my cast weight bearing a bit more every day in an air boot !
its taking a night mare amount of time but i keep reminding myself that i am progressing
kindest regards
tracy x
katherine21894 tracy51603
Posted
Hi. I had ORIF 16 weeks ago. Ankle broken in 3 places, plate and 6 screws one side and 2 pins the other. This is a tough injury and recovery but week on week it does get better and easier. I had all sort if sensations going on under my cast - pain, pulling sensations, swelling that went up and down. i I didn't feel safe using crutches so got around with zimmer frame or wheelchair. It was a relief to lose the cast after 6 weeks and get into a boot and then use crutches. There were days when I wondered if I would walk again and I felt like I had forgotten how to. It was so frustrating and upsetting. Once I started physio at 8 weeks post op things changed. I got a lot of reassurance from my PT. Over a few weeks I ditched one crutch then the other and finally the boot. I'm now walking short distances in trainers, I do have a limp but I'm working on that with the PT. Also working on strengthening my ankle. If I do a lot if walking it does swell a lot and I still occasionally take painkillers. You need a ton of patience to get through this and literally have to take one step at a time but it does improve.
tracy51603 katherine21894
Posted
hi katherine thank you so much for your reply , it was a god send finding this site x
i think one of the hardest parts getting through this is the fear that pops up when symptoms change and you think the worst .... i havent had the greatest experience with my injury , also i dont think it helped being a staff member at the hospital lol .... long story short after surgery back slab cast bandaged due to seepage i asked to have the dressing changed before discharge as it was soaking through onto the bedding .
this was done by someone who hadnt done it before which resulted in the back slab being twisted and bandaged badly .
i did raise my concerns i was discharged with no great concern shown .
ok so home 11days in cast torture finally get to fracture clinic as i guessed they couldnt understand why they couldnt cut down the front of the cast ??? ill tell you why !!!! lol it was bloody twisted to the side thats why! plus because they hadnt removed the sodden dressing it had turned rock hard from ankle to back of knee my cast was full of thick rock hard blood which took over 40min to soak and eventually remove !
the relief was omg amazing !!!!! a wonderful nurse put a new cast on allowing a bit 0f wiggle room around my toes seriously it was heaven !!! i spent a whole week feeling like a different person hardly any pain and even when down rather than blue toes my foot was just a darker shade of pink yehaaaaaa I i thought tracy your on your way to recovery girl !!!!!
then i enter week 2 in new cast 4weeks since surgery and im feeling worried swelling and pain have returned and colour in foot is darker when lowered like im going backwards rather than forwards ???
i am keeping my ankle elevated above my heart ... going stir crazy with the patience required lol x but i just need this worry or self sabotage thinking to stop .... is it normal for pain and swelling to improve and then return with avengence ?
i have managed not to go back on tramadol because altho the pain is there and its a bit wearing its not making me climb the walls ! so i try and focus on being grateful its not as bad as i first experienced x i have googled and it states pain to be expected up to 6wks after surgery !
i wonder if anyone else panicked a bit when symptoms flare up and down ?
katherine21894 tracy51603
Posted
What a nightmare with your cast. I did find the swelling went up and down. Sometimes it felt really tight and uncomfortable, sometimes it was loose and I could move my leg a bit. It often felt it was rubbing over my incisions. I fully expected when it was taken off that there would be areas of the incisions that were sore and weepy with maybe some screws showing through ! but there wasn't - just a neat row of clips either side. My leg was pretty gross though - hairy and skin peeling off. I still spend a huge part of my day thinking and worrying about my ankle. My daughter jumped on the bed the other day and caught it, I gave a cry out then realised it hadn't hurt at all!
mary102362 tracy51603
Posted
I am so sorry you are having to go through this ankle surgery nightmare. I am 7 weeks post surgery. I was lucky enough to never have a cast, only a boot. I am still non weight bearing for at least one more week. The bones were healing nicely two weeks post surgery, but I haven't had a follow up x-ray yet. I believe that will happen at my July 1 doctor's appointment. I am hoping my break has healed enough I may start physical therapy next week. Fingers crossed. My big problem is that my surgical wound is not healing. I had an infection of my surgical wound two days after the staples were removed. I have taken two rounds of antibiotics. The infections seems to be gone, but a screw is visible through the inciscion and my skin is just not healing over it. The doctor prescribed Aquacel AG which I have been using for the past two weeks, but there is no improvement. I am just not healing. I see the doctor again on July 1. If he doesn't volunteer to, I am going to request a referral to a wound care specialist. It is very discouraging.
diane86522 tracy51603
Posted
Good evening. I dislocated my ankle (5 ways from Sunday), broke it in 2 places about 5 1/2 weeks ago. For what it's worth I have used some liquid drops of colloidal silver on some of the angry scraped red areas, It REALLY seems to help. I continue to elevate & use ice packs, do some PT, etc. So far, so good. Color me ,"Thankful."