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Message
Ankle Fusion surgery--any input??
Posted on 11/10/23 at 8:07 am
Posted on 11/10/23 at 8:07 am
Long story short:
Woke up one morning mid June with severe pain in my right ankle but never twisted it or hurt it in any way. Been flatfooted my entire life and now age 71.
Trip to ortho showed a hairline fracture of an old fracture and some ligament damage. Dr. recommended an MRI. Had that done and it showed extensive prior damage to just about all ligaments in right ankle along with Grade 4 arthritis and very little cartilage remaining in joint. Injured ankle 35 years ago in a fall suffering ligament damage.
Had a walking boot prescribed, along with 6 weeks of PT, not much change, did a cortisone shot 3 weeks ago and it didn't do much. Can't walk without moderate to severe pain in the joint and the longer on my feet, the worse it gets.
At this point my options are limited to "Live with it" or get the ankle fusion surgery that will effectively eliminate the ankle pain from the arthritis and slightly realign my foot.
Surgery will limit movement in the joint to only flex front to back. No left to right, no rotation, etc.
My question is, has anyone here had that surgery or know of someone who's had it, and if so, how did you come out of it. I'm about ready to pull the trigger on the surgery because the quality of life just sucks right now with how limited I am to do just normal things most take for granted.
Any input would be helpful and much appreciated.
Woke up one morning mid June with severe pain in my right ankle but never twisted it or hurt it in any way. Been flatfooted my entire life and now age 71.
Trip to ortho showed a hairline fracture of an old fracture and some ligament damage. Dr. recommended an MRI. Had that done and it showed extensive prior damage to just about all ligaments in right ankle along with Grade 4 arthritis and very little cartilage remaining in joint. Injured ankle 35 years ago in a fall suffering ligament damage.
Had a walking boot prescribed, along with 6 weeks of PT, not much change, did a cortisone shot 3 weeks ago and it didn't do much. Can't walk without moderate to severe pain in the joint and the longer on my feet, the worse it gets.
At this point my options are limited to "Live with it" or get the ankle fusion surgery that will effectively eliminate the ankle pain from the arthritis and slightly realign my foot.
Surgery will limit movement in the joint to only flex front to back. No left to right, no rotation, etc.
My question is, has anyone here had that surgery or know of someone who's had it, and if so, how did you come out of it. I'm about ready to pull the trigger on the surgery because the quality of life just sucks right now with how limited I am to do just normal things most take for granted.
Any input would be helpful and much appreciated.
3
Posted on 11/10/23 at 9:19 am to gumbo2176
I had a lot of patients a few years back that I saw afterwards that didn't have great success. I dont think anyone in LA was doing it yet and these were done in Houston. I think it's still fairly new. Just a handful of people that had it. I likely did not see the patients that had good outcomes. I would do a lot more research first. Knee, hip etc is a lot more proven over time.
Posted on 11/10/23 at 10:27 am to LEASTBAY
quote:
I had a lot of patients a few years back that I saw afterwards that didn't have great success.
Thanks for the feedback. Now this was ankle fusion surgery, and not ankle replacement surgery that you are referring to, right.
It is my understanding that fusion surgery has been done for a while now, at least as far back as when Bill Walton was playing basketball and had ankle issues. Whereas ankle replacement surgery where an artificial joint is used like in knees and hips is relatively new and not a proven alternative with the chance of needing further surgery down the line.
There is so little information out there about this surgery from a first hand patient viewpoint, and it's an important step to consider taking.
I just know I can't live like I am currently with just about no quality of life due to the pain just walking around.
This post was edited on 11/10/23 at 10:58 am
Posted on 11/10/23 at 10:31 am to LEASTBAY
quote:
I had a lot of patients a few years back that I saw afterwards that didn't have great success. I dont think anyone in LA was doing it yet and these were done in Houston. I think it's still fairly new. Just a handful of people that had it. I likely did not see the patients that had good outcomes. I would do a lot more research first. Knee, hip etc is a lot more proven over time.
I think you're talking about an ankle replacement, and yes the results are rarely great. An ankle fusion is well established and usually results in great pain relief. Yes you lose some motion, but with an arthritic ankle it's usually not moving great already.
Posted on 11/10/23 at 10:56 am to RC
quote:
Yes you lose some motion, but with an arthritic ankle it's usually not moving great already.
This is so true in my case. My range of motion other than flexing the joint up and down in a straight line with the leg is severely limited.
The Dr. and I have talked about this issue a couple times already and he concurred that the amount of motion I'd lose is not much more than I can't accomplish at this point in time.
When I was going to PT to see if that would help, I never saw one patient out of the dozens that had ankle fusion surgery. There were knee and hip replacements galore, but no ankle fusion or ankle replacement patients.
Posted on 11/10/23 at 11:26 am to gumbo2176
Ankle replacements have greatly improved over the last decade and at your age you could be a good candidate.
I would highly recommend finding a foot and ankle fellowship trained Ortho surgeon in your area who does fusions AND replacements. A good majority of these specialists will have experience with both procedures and can help you decide what would work best in your case.
I would highly recommend finding a foot and ankle fellowship trained Ortho surgeon in your area who does fusions AND replacements. A good majority of these specialists will have experience with both procedures and can help you decide what would work best in your case.
Posted on 11/10/23 at 11:28 am to gumbo2176
Any joint you've previously injured in your life will be at an increased risk of re-injuring and developing arthritis, especially at old age. There's no way around this. I injured my shoulder at a wrestling meet 20 years ago and my shoulder has never been the same. I've already got arthritis developing in the joint which has severely affected my range of motion.
Go for the surgery. The benefits would outweigh the risks. Quality of life matters.
Go for the surgery. The benefits would outweigh the risks. Quality of life matters.
This post was edited on 11/10/23 at 11:36 am
Posted on 11/10/23 at 11:56 am to benson32
quote:
I would highly recommend finding a foot and ankle fellowship trained Ortho surgeon in your area who does fusions AND replacements.
The Dr. I am seeing comes highly recommended by my personal ortho who has performed 2 joint surgeries on me over the years, rotator cuff and elbow. He flat told me he would not feel qualified to deal with my ankle and recommended the guy he'd trust, and that's who I'm seeing.
Plus I have a friend who was a salesman for Stryker and sold all the parts for joint replacement and he knows the Dr. I'm seeing and he too highly recommended him.
I have an appointment to see him this coming Monday to make a decision.
I truly appreciate all the input you folks have given so far.
This post was edited on 11/10/23 at 11:59 am
Posted on 11/10/23 at 1:06 pm to benson32
Sorry. Read through it too quick. I imagine ankle replacement will be superior at some point but not sure it is yet. Can't imagine either of them are the funniest thing to go through.
Posted on 11/13/23 at 5:53 pm to gumbo2176
Update: Saw the specialist today and have the surgery planned for the morning of Nov. 30th.
I decided to pull the trigger since my current quality of life really sucks to be so limited in what I can comfortably do------and that includes little things like simply walking or standing without joint pain to the point of it being debilitating.
I decided to pull the trigger since my current quality of life really sucks to be so limited in what I can comfortably do------and that includes little things like simply walking or standing without joint pain to the point of it being debilitating.
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