Update on my surgery...

[rugerjunkie]

It's been 7 weeks since my sugery now and got some fresh xrays at my last doctor appt. News from the doc is that it all looks good and is healing up as he hoped it would.



I was a little shocked when i first saw how large the hardware is! And until they took my cast off a couple of weeks ago , I did not know there was a bone growth stimulator implant in my leg. There is a battery pack near my calf and you can see the wire running down towards the heel. Doc said it was like throwing the kitchen sink at it too to do every little thing he could to get the bone graft to take good. I was also a bit shocked to learn how much bone was taken from my pelvis and put in the heel. The xray shows that area as a lighter colered rectangular area high on the heel.

Im pretty happy so far with the results. I dont feel a lot of pain coming from the heel at the moment. Definately less than before the surgery. The pain was very debilatating before. Im sure rehab will change that for a while when it starts up! :lol: i have about another month to go before he will let me start walking on it. Cant happen soon enough! About that same time , he said the implant will have to come out but is a quick , simple procedure. Maybe for him! Haha!

So I'm hanging in there anyways. Getting some reloading done but thats about it. Everyrhing else is too much of a pain being on crutches.

 

[Jim Puke]

GOOD news...just do as the Dr. says.

 

[rugerjunkie]

GOOD news...just do as the Dr. says.

Absolutely! He even got me to quit smoking! Something to do with nicotine and bone growth and him scaring the crap out of me about what he was going to do! :lol:

 

[JPGLSG]

Glad you are on the mend.

 

[contender]

Always good to hear this type of news!

 

[m657]

great news! Cheers on your recovery....

no clogging quite yet....

 

[Rick Courtright]

Hi,

Glad to hear the good news, and here's another vote to do what the doc says, along with a question for him/her. You might want to ask about taking extra Vitamin D during the recovery period.

When my mother broke her hip at age 85 a couple of years ago, her regular doctor did a blood test for Vit D, and gave her an Rx for a MEGA dose of Vit D: 50,000 units, once a week, for 8 weeks. Doc's explanation was healing uses a lot of the body's vitamin supply, and D is essential for uptake of calcium. So she wanted my mother to have "more than enough" since "We really don't know how much her body will want during this time."

Orthopedic surgeon originally suggested a minimum of 12 week recovery due to her age, but was amazed each time they took pictures, and turned her loose completely at eight weeks. I asked him if he had any ideas about the Vit D's place in the process, and he asked for my mother's regular doctor's name. "I'd really like to learn a little more about this" was his comment!

Might be worth a moment to ask...

Rick C

 

[rugerjunkie]

Thanks evryone. And Rick , i'll ask the dr about that when i talk to him. I do know that he is one of the top orthopedic/foot specialists in the country and also a professor. If anyone will know , he will.

 

[Colonialgirl]

It's been 7 weeks since my sugery now and got some fresh xrays at my last doctor appt. News from the doc is that it all looks good and is healing up as he hoped it would.



I was a little shocked when i first saw how large the hardware is! And until they took my cast off a couple of weeks ago , I did not know there was a bone growth stimulator implant in my leg. There is a battery pack near my calf and you can see the wire running down towards the heel. Doc said it was like throwing the kitchen sink at it too to do every little thing he could to get the bone graft to take good. I was also a bit shocked to learn how much bone was taken from my pelvis and put in the heel. The xray shows that area as a lighter colered rectangular area high on the heel.

Im pretty happy so far with the results. I dont feel a lot of pain coming from the heel at the moment. Definately less than before the surgery. The pain was very debilatating before. Im sure rehab will change that for a while when it starts up! :lol: i have about another month to go before he will let me start walking on it. Cant happen soon enough! About that same time , he said the implant will have to come out but is a quick , simple procedure. Maybe for him! Haha!

So I'm hanging in there anyways. Getting some reloading done but thats about it. Everyrhing else is too much of a pain being on crutches.

As long as you don't wake up and find that they painted your toe nails a BRIGHT pink or something. :roll: :roll:

 

[rugerjunkie]

That was 7 weeks ago...the pink nail polish has wore off!! Haha!

 

[pawncop]

A prayer from Texas for your continued recovery.

Betcha have fun with the airport screeners now.

 

[rugerjunkie]

A prayer from Texas for your continued recovery.

Betcha have fun with the airport screeners now.

Thanks! And i have an id card with the implants serial number on it for the airports!

 

[WendyZXZ]

That is great news!

 

[toysoldier]

Thanks for posting the interesting X-ray. We do very little foot surgery here, so I'm not acquainted with the hardware you had installed. I can tell that the two large screws that pass through the calcaneus into the talus are cannulated (hollow). The rest looks like a couple of plates with screws. A solid repair.

 

[rugerjunkie]

Thanks for posting the interesting X-ray. We do very little foot surgery here, so I'm not acquainted with the hardware you had installed. I can tell that the two large screws that pass through the calcaneus into the talus are cannulated (hollow). The rest looks like a couple of plates with screws. A solid repair.

I remember you asking about the type of hardware used and i forgot to ask about that. Too many other things on my mind at the last appointment! I wont mention my docs name but it was done at KU Med in KC. I will say that he is absolutely top notch in my opinion! My previous 2 surgeries were done at the UW Wisconsin hospital. Also good doctors there but this time ive come back way faster and attribute a lot of that to what my doctor here has done differently than the others. I might be back to normal a full month sooner than the other times. They also involed bone work but nowhere near as extensive as this surgery was.