Peroneal tendon surgery ?????

Hi Sabrina.  I tried the "hope it gets better" approach for 8+ months and it didn't work.  I did physical therapy, icing, resting, everything my primary care doctor could think of.  In the end, none of that worked, I made it worse and still ended up with the surgery.  For me, the surgery was pretty easy.  It's outpatient surgery, so you are back home the same day.  I had two weeks in a cast, non-weight bearing, then 6 weeks in a boot (full weight bearing) and another 5 or 6 weeks in brace and real shoes.  I used a knee scooter during the first two weeks and I got around quite well.  I'm glad I wasn't working, but you might be able to work depending on what you do.  Once I got into the boot, I was really mobile.  I will tell you that this surgery was far, far easier than I expected.  I had no pain at all, swelling of course, but no pain.  Once the cast was off and I got in a few sessions of PT, my range of motion was pretty good and only got better as I did my exercises.  Now I'm 10+ months post surgery and you would never know I'd ever had a problem,   I have 100% range of motion.  I'm very thankful I had a good surgeon and that he believes strongly in physical therapy.  The PT was so helpful, don't pass it up.  But back to your original question, my doctor said that walking on the injury for more than 8 months caused the tear to shred and make it worse.  However, he also said that it really didn't make any difference in the surgery, it would have been the same if I'd had the repair right away.  So depending, you might get away with walking on it for awhile, but it will make it hurt more.  You should talk to your orthopedic surgeon and ask him, my fear was that I could do permanent damage, but I didn't.  Maybe you could get your employer to agree to letting you have a little time off in a few months after you've proven your worth to them.  The knee scooter really is great, way better than crutches and makes you very mobile.  And if your injury is in the left ankle (like mine) you can drive once you get the boot.  Good luck on this.  (And so sorry about the colonoscopy . . . the prep work is the worst!)

I think I wouldn't want to screw up the job thing either.  Talk to your doctor and perhaps he can help in some way, maybe if you wear a boot it will protect your ankle  for the year you need and prevent more damage.  Maybe your doctor thinks it could possibly heal if you were super careful, had PT, I don't know what else.  After walking on my peroneal tear for 8+ months, I'd shredded it and it was beyond help other than the surgery.  I don't have any idea how your doctor is, but mine was super and we arranged my surgery around my husband traveling and some other commitments I had.  If you are wearing a boot, the government can't (and probably wouldn't) discriminate against you so you could put in your year..  You woud be protected by ADA.  You're very mobile in a boot and you probably wouldn't need to wear it full time. Talk with your doctor and he might have some ideas.  Glad the colonoscopy went okay.

I just had my surgery on 4/7. Both Peroneals repaired, ligaments and ankle stability. I pushed mine back about 6 months but did more damage to my ankle. Like you, I was worried about work and finances. The pain would be on and off. When it was on, I wished I had already done the surgery. When there was none, I second guessed myself. The last week prior to my surgery, it was very clear I needed to have it done. Now comes the recovery. Good luck with everything