Post op Peroneal tendon surgery week 5 questions
Posted , 61 users are following.
Hello foot & ankle friends;
I am curious if any of you had also had peroneal tendon surgery; I am currently post op starting 5 weeks and let's say it's been fairly painful and a lot more intense than I was prepared for. The surgery went well, the first 2 weeks I was basically bedrest and in a splint/wrap. Then after 2 weeks the stitches were removed, lets just say I was not mentally or physically prepared for how large the incision was and I almost had a breakdown in the drs office. Ekk! That being said, I was then put into a hard cast for 4 weeks, I have 9 days left of the hard cast and from there I believe I am put into a walking boot for 6 more weeks with PT.
My question is this; 5 weeks post op is it still normal to have numbess, tingliness and a lot of pain? Also I am still not able to put weight down on the ankle. The dr. confirmed that this is all normal due to the fact that this was a major surgery but I still have worries. My concern is the dr puts me in a walking cast and I really can't walk, what am I going to do? I also have nightmares of PT and how painful it is going to be.
For a little reference I played college soccer and I am a runner, and I want to do everything possible to get back to where I was before the injury.
Thank you for all the info.
Signed post op concerns Danielle. :-)
1 like, 233 replies
teresa14243 dcelmer14
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Hi Danielle, I'm post op peroneal tendon repair 6 weeks now and still have pain and numbness in my foot and incision. Will be starting pt in a few weeks. I totally understand where you are coming from. How are you feeling?
teresa14243 dcelmer14
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tyler61678 dcelmer14
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Hello all I'm am currently laying on my couch and have nothing better to do. I injured my ankle playing basketball two months ago and ever since then my ankle subflexed. I am on day 8 post operation. They deepened the groove, fixed a vertically torn perineal tendon, and repaired the retinaculum. My procedure took over 2 hours. Is it normal to need my foot constantly elevated? If I put it down for even 5 minutes I feel like my foot is going to explode and it becomes super tight in the cast. I get the stitches out in 5 more days. Did anyone else have Discomfort in the cast? Also half of my big toe is numb due to this cast being so uncomfortable should I be worried? Are any of you back to the point of competing competitively like you were before all this I want to know how long till I can play basketball at full force. Hope to hear a reply! I won't be doing much. Thanks!
shana50627 tyler61678
Posted
The sensation you have when it's not elevated is normal and will go away with time. Just keep it elevated.
I'm not an athlete but my ortho said if I were I would need 9 months to recover.
Its a long recovery road but will get better.
lah2010 tyler61678
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The need to elevate is normal. Mine lasted five weeks - that's me on the sofa with my foot elevated above my heart for 5 full weeks. I used a knee scooter in the house (Freedom - highly recommended as it has one of the tightest turning radius, its light, and the unique double sided locking mechanism is the safest, easiest to use and most convenient.) I could get up long enough to pee and scoot back, with a good 20-30 min recovery period of throbbing afterward. Then suddenly it was better.
I had numbness and loss of circulation to my big toe and foot in general on and off. It improved as the weeks went by, and I discovered strategies to deal with it. For me it had to do with how my foot was positioned as I lay down and the height O had set up with various pillows.
My surgeon was not helpful with questions, but yours might be. If you have a concern, for sure, call and ask. Always, always ask if you have a concern.
I'm 3 months out and all tingling and numbness are gone (I had 5 surgeries throughout my foot, including peroneal and Brostrom). I have tightness and limited range requiring lots of PT, but other than my big toe, which had two surgeries, there's no pain.
Good luck. Keep asking if you have questions.
lah2010
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kellee94011 tyler61678
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Hi Tyler. As everyone says, ice and elevate . . . especially at this early stage. My ortho surgeon told me complete recovery is one year. I am now just days past being one year post-op. He was pretty much right. I had almost no pain after sugery (except the rubbing of the cast) and I obeyed all the rules . . . ice, elevate, no weight-bearing until he told me to. I started physical therapy 2 days after the cast was removed and I think that was important. Today I am 100%. I have complete range of motion, no pain, my ankle feels strong. I do have a little numbness down the side of my foot and once in awhile I get a little swelling right in front of my ankle bone. But no pain. You sound young and athletic so I imagine you will heal pretty quickly. I am not young nor athletic and I did fine. My suggestion would be to follow your doctors orders, ask a million questions when you are curious, don't miss any PT sessions and do the exercises everyday as prescribed by your therapist. If you miss basketball for awhile, that's crummy. But if you don't heal properly, you could end up not playing basketball for the rest of your life (or any other athletics). And remember . . . ice and elevate! Good luck, hope a year from now you'll be telling someone that you're back to 100% and enjoying baskeball once again.
tyler61678 dcelmer14
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jpratt7880 dcelmer14
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Hey guys, I stumbled upon this forum & have found the reply’s quite useful.
I’m 4wks postop & the doctor decided to remove the soft cast due to sores on my foot. He’s asked that I begin range of motion along with trying to walk in my cam boot.
But first let me tell you the back side of this injury- in March I was swimming & felt this pain shoot thru my foot & was unable to bear weight. My treatment was far from good- the dr ordered the wrong MRI, then 2 dvt test & said I had blood clots on s nerve & put me on medicine to find out from vascular surgeon next month no clots & dvt test were normal. Finally saw a podiatrist 2 months after injury, received a cortisone shot which caused my foot to swell & go numb, got another MRI & radiologist didn’t read it right- was sent to 6 weeks of PT with no relief. Was referred to a sports surgeon who then referred me out again & was advised that my perennial brevis was torn but that couldn’t be my problem he said I had sciatica. Thankfully my podiatrist took action when I advised him of the findings & sent the MRI out to be reread- next week it’s confirmed that the tendon was torn after 5 months I’m finally scheduled for surgery.
In the surgery, the doctor identifies that both of the perennial tendons are torn with extensive scar tissue- surgery took 2.5 hours to complete the repairs. I’m sent home in a splint cast & bed rest. I see the doctor every week & the first week I wasn’t mentally prepared for the incision, swelling & amount of staples that I almost passed out. The goal was to start range of motion at 2wks however I had such extensive swelling the staple removal & motion was pushed back. At week 3 staples were removed & I could try to bend upwards only but still in a soft cast- at that time I was advised I wouldn’t be transferring to a cam walker for at least another 2 months. To my surprise when I returned this week & found out about the sores & asked to try to walk. My foot is so swollen that I feel lost ke the skin is going to bust, I am a compliant patient so of course I tried placing the cam boot on which was extremely painful, I used my good leg to stand & slowly tried placing my injured foot down, I took 2 steps & started crying the pain was so excruciating it took hours to not feel it anymore.
I don’t know if I should try again or wait a little bit longer. Should the swelling be less before walking or should I at least have conquered some range of motion before making the attempt to walk? I am trying to move my foot around every hour & I probably have mastered 8% of motion- I can pull upwards towards my face a bit, move to the right but not at all towards the left where the incision is not downwards. Any advice/suggestions?
diggerd dcelmer14
Posted
Hi,
How did you make out ? I just had a subtler joint fusion and a 3" perineal brevis tear repair. It's only been a week. I swear the tendon repair hurts more than the fusion.
5bells diggerd
Posted
I can't speak for the fusion but the tendon repair does hurt. I am still in the healing process but it is slowly getting there. I'm 4 months post op. I had 6 tears in mine with severe weakening and extensive scar tissue. Dr did an allograft on mine. My ankle stills swells a lot during the workweek. Depending the workday determines how much it hurts. it feels very tight, I have to stretch it to get going every morning or it hurts more through the day. Hang in there it will get better
5bells dcelmer14
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So I been reading up on your comments. I had tendon surgery in June 2017, I almost 4 months post op.... I injuried my ankle in September of 2016, rolled it really bad while walking inside. Then walked on it for about 2 months before seeing the doctor. I though it was just a bad sprain. Turned out that I broke the bone on either side of the ankle. The MRI showed a small tear in the tendon, so it was treated conservatively. The pain was so bad I had to sleep with my foot outside the covers. I could stand for anything to touch the outside of the ankle. I so sit in a funny position in the recliner so my ankle would not touch the foot rest because the pain was so bad. The swelling never went away. After 2 1/2 months in a boot I was put in a Ritche brace. That still didn't help. So in April we did another MRI which show the one year but also showed severe weakening. It was decided that it was time for surgery to improve the problem. My doctor believed that it was a matter of weeks before I would complete rupture the tendon. So in June we did tendon repair. As it turned out I had 6 tears in the tendon and was shredded in one place, had severe scar tissue damage and a lot of swelling in the sheat. My doctor did an allograft to repair it. I as non weight bearing for 6 weeks, started PT which was 6 weeks long. I can honestly say that my ankle feels tons better than before surgery. However, I have days when it just a numbing burning sensatation. How long does that last? I have a section that I can tell that something is touching my foot but don't feel it. It's weird the way it feels. It feels very tight all through that area. I am still doing my PT exercises, messaging the scar. There is an area that when touched it a sharp pain but I am messaging it regularly to help. My doctor did say that it would take 6 months to a year for full recovery. Will my ankle always have this tight feeling.
kpower dcelmer14
Posted
My sympathies on your predicament.
Unfortunately, quick recovery from ankle injuries (especially with surgery) is not the norm-- far from it.
I dodged surgery, noticeable pain, and strange nerve-related symptoms in my recovery, but as we know from this forum your healing path is as individual as you are.
I empathize with the many, many patients who have reported a litany of painful, weird, and worrisome symptoms (especially surgery patients).
Read their stories so you grasp that your ordeal is not unique-- you are not alone in what you face. Take solace from the fact that so many patients pass this life test well and move on with their daily lives.
Unfortunately, the many patients who successfully overcome ankle disasters rarely come back to this forum to tell us happily about their success. They are too busy leading their everyday lives now.
alba93365 dcelmer14
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tyler61678 alba93365
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