Comments on: Ankle Replacement Surgery

By: Chuck2kat

Chuck2kat — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:04:00 +0000

chuck2kat i am 57 after one clean out surg didn t help next a subtaylor fusion didn t help nextcame the ankle replacement well guess what happened then?most of you got it right,didn t work either.it was about12 yrs ago i went trough.the surgon was from hughston clinic.went next to UAB to see about taking it out and fusing the wole joint.said he could ,it would help with the pain but was not going to be a cure all.also have a screw backed out on the heel causing great pain.ps, i have r/a the ankle replacement the bone backed away from arti joint. now .it moves around.why could they not fused it to start with.all those surgeries.got deppresion months on setting.dot guess it was the money thing

By: Lorikirouac

Lorikirouac — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 16:51:00 +0000

Karen Hi I’m 58 and due t have a Star ankle replacement at the end of the month. After reading the reviews I’m not sure if this is a good idea, how did your surgery go and are you still in pain or have you had to have more surgeries I really would appreciate any feedback you might have

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 01:52:00 +0000

Dear Gerard,
Sorry to hear about your ankle. I am from the Albany area of New York. My right ankle suffered 15 fractures with a torn tibialas tendon. It was one of the worst ankle breaks they had seen in Burlington VT. It was also complicated by being a compound fracture…FABULOUS! Anyway,I had a tremendous pair if orthopedic surgeons do “Open Reduction and Internal Fixation”. They knew at the time most likely in the future it would have to be fused. There are two major fusions of the ankle…one is to fuse the tibia/fibula to the top portion of the talus bone and the other is called a triple arthrodesis. This procedure fuses the heel bone to the under side of the talus bone.
The first fusion(the one I already have) prevents pointing and flexing of the foot,the second surgery stops side to side motion.
This is a procedure that will most likely be in my future.
Arthritis is very debilitating and cortisone injections will help for a while. I did those for about 3 yrs. The fusion I had takes about 4months in a cast (not exciting),and then depending on how aggressive you are with getting better,it does work! I did NO physical therapy what so ever,I just went back to TKD. I was back to competing in about 8months.
You would never know I had anything done to that ankle by the way I walk, however with the leg exposed,I do have a lot scars. Oh well! The foot will,over a period of time,break down. I ended up with a neuroma in the instep of the foot that also needed to be removed and most recently I had a gastric-soleus release due to the lack of use of the Achilles tendon. That
tendon does not get stretched with the type of fusion I have and there is
no kind of exercise you can do simply because the lack if
extension/flexsion.
The surgeon I have now is holding off on the triple arthrodesis for as
long ad possible. He does do injections of cortisone once to twice a year
and that seems to be working ok. Surgery is not in my plans at this time.
It has been nice to not experience the horrific pain caused from arthritis
(at least at the upper portion if the foot). Now I have a considerable
amount of arthritis in the sub-taler joint…I will hold off if the
injections continue to help.
I hope this info helps you. You are free to contact me, however use this
email lscatlover9@gmail.com. The first letter is a lower case”L”. Do you
still do TKD? I am at 5+ degree black belt,so the ankle hasn’t stopped
me. Lori
On Jan 2, 2012 6:16 PM, “Disqus”

By: Gerard roarty

Gerard roarty — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 23:16:00 +0000

hi lori

Where are you from ? Just been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my right ankle have had cortisone injection and am due the second one in 2 weeks time also do tkd and am worried about longterm effect of same on my ankle would love to pick your brains via e-mail or on the phone

By: Larry

Larry — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 02:46:00 +0000

Hi Marygreen

l had a ankle replacement done in Sept. 2011 four months ago. l found out in a follow up xray at the start of Dec. that l have a large pressure fracture due to the ankle replacement being to tight. l am now in a cast for almost 6 weeks again. I see my Doctor on Jan.6th and he will decide if its starting to heal or if he is going to have to operate on me again.. not fun and yes bones around the replacement ankle joint can fracture.. I know l have one.Larry

By: DT

DT — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 05:09:00 +0000

I had an ankle replacement 12 months ago on 12.7.2010. 7 months later I had to have surgery on it again to remove a bone spur that was keeping my ankle from bending when walking up hill. Now it hurts to much to walk over a mile. It swells up and hurts on the left outside of my leg all the time. Braces do not help. I went to physical therpy for 3 months during this time with no relief in pain. This is a STAR device. So far I am very unhappy with the results of this surgery. At this point in time I do not know what next step I should take

By: Laxtons708

Laxtons708 — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 15:05:00 +0000

Hello Mavis, I had my
tar in Sept of 2002. I was okay for awhile but it does restrict your life style. I have gained weight due to inactivity and my ankle has calcium build up around the device. I have been told this is holding the joint together. My doctor no longer does replacements because of their failure. I now wear a brace that prohibits any movement of the ankle when I walk.

By: Jmontalvo213

Jmontalvo213 — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 20:36:00 +0000

Hi Cissy, My name is Jeannette about 16yrs ago I was in a car accident breaking my tibia and fibia and needing K wires for my ankle. Since then my life has been a living hell. I was never able to obtain a full time job due to limitation on my anke more than 4hrs as time passed by these four hours became less. I then started walking tie pee toe and crawling in the floor like a baby since I could stand on my right ankle anymore, it got so worse that I actually ended up in school to become a nurse so at least if I am working part time at least I could maintain a roof over my head. After many years of research and the notion that I didnt want a fusion eventhough I was advised by many doctore, today I am the recipient of new ankle replacement. 2 wks after the operation, the pain that haunted me for years was finally gone although i had small complication normally found in tissue trauma I would do it all over again in a heart beat. For several years this disease stop me for living. No more

By: Cissy

Cissy — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:16:54 +0000

Karen, I know this was written quite a while ago but I am really concerned about having ankle replacement. I was in a car accident 16 years ago and I have had many surgeries, I just want to lead a normal life and not be in pain all the time. My Dr. is at Vanderbilt Univerity Hospital in Nashville Tenn. He is really hesitant to do this surgery because it hasnt been done very much around here. What has your experiance been like?

By: Ruthie954

Ruthie954 — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:53:05 +0000

I had ankle replacemnt done 5 years ago I do not know what did but it hurts constent and swells
and discolored on the iouter left side if the ankle.