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ORIF Ankle surgery… recovery questions..

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audrey38633
audrey38633

so glad i found this forum! had an ankle roll on Nov 22 and sustained an oblique fracture of fibula and fractured tibia, a very badly displaced talus. had surgery on the 24th. 8 screws and a plate later... NWB for 8 weeks, screw will come out around 8-10 week.

question.. how long were you off work? will take a short term leave.. working from home is a challlenge with leg needing to above heart, ( should this be continous) tiredness and pain meds.. also, when foot is not elevated toes turn deep red and pain over achilles.. also, big toe is twitching and trembling alot. has anyone used knee scooter? is it painful ? any help woukd be greatly appreciated! thanks:)

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  • Adam_
    Adam_ audrey38633

    Posted

    Hi Audrey,

    I will answer your questions based on my experience. I had a fibula break ans my telus was displaced like you.

    i was signed off for 4 weeks, 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after surgery and could of been signed off for longer but wanted to focus on doing something. i laid on my sofa 90% of the day as keeping your leg above your heart is essential for a number of reasons, it reduces swelling, helps to prevent infection and also decreases blood pooling and forming a blood clot. I had a table i purchased off of Amazon to put my laptop on and this slip over my sofa but could be moved when needed, it also helped when i was eating as it doubled as a dinner table.

    any twitches are normal, its just nerves and muscles dealing with the whole thing. i was told that high temperature and pain around back of calf, aswell as cramping are main things to watch in terms of blood clots etc.

    didn't use a knee scooter, i barely left my sofa for 6 weeks after op, just let things heal, went to loo and for a couple of walks on crutches around my car park to get fresh air and that was it.

    I'm 9 weeks post op now, only on 1 crutch when i go out, walk around my flat with my boot off and no crutches most of the time now.

    you will get there, it takes time but just take it easy and keep wiggling your toes and doing ROM exercises when told to and it will turn out fine

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