foot surgery recovery

Sunny:
I would ease your worries about your upcoming surgery.

For one, the small frame scooters used to allow for the unweighting of the lower leg are really awesome. They provide a good base of support, providing a more stable platform than the precarious use of crutches.

I highly recommend that you get accustomed to the scooter prior to your surgery. That is, practice with and use the scooter to unweight your foot just as you will post surgery. Practicing with and using the scooter now will give you the confidence that you will need after surgery.

The scooters are used by people with bunionectomes and malleoli fractures of the ankle with good results. The scooters are also recommended for people who are otherwise challenged with their balance and overall fitness, who would struggle with conventional crutches. I think you will find the scooter easy to use and not overly challenging to adapt and adjust to - even if you feel less than coordinated.

Everyone has a leg dominance. As therapists', we test to limb dominance by rolling a beach ball (or similar) toward an individual in standing. Everyone has a dominate leg that they will first respond to by extending the leg and kicking. Limb dominance has its basis on an identified motor cortex dominance.

Cerebral palsy affects the lower motor nerve roots. As such, the difference that you are noting in calf circumference and tissue shortening of the posterior calf tendons is owing to the motor and muscle imbalance due to affected motor nerve roots. It is not uncommon for joint and bone problems to begin to surface as they are for you as you age and mature. Your body has been compensating as best as it can, adjusting . . . and now your body is tired and showing the wearing effects.

Ease your worries about walking with the scooter. Practice now ahead of your surgery date. I think you will find that it will come quite naturally to you, akin to riding a bike.

Hi Sunny,

I had surgery similar to yours but on the outside instead of the medial side. Mine was for fixing a broken ankle after the first doc didn't look at the ruptured tendons. I had the heel bone cut and a wedge put in to turn my foot inward. That hurts still after 4 1/2 months. I had tendon transfer from my little toes to my posterior tibial tendon, which was ruptured. Also a gastrocnemius section to lengthen the calf tendon - which may be what you are getting. Mine was done up high in the calf, which is the new, current way to do it, not the old place down at the bottom of the tendon. Videos are online. I expect a year for recovery, so don't get your hopes up to be running soon. After non-weight bearing you still won't be walking full weight for weeks.

Crutches aren't for everyone. Try them out at a store or a rental outlet. Insurance will not cover a knee scooter, but buy a good one yourself now and just sell it when you are done with it - for nearly the same as you paid for it. You can get one of the best ones for under $200 from Walmart or Amazon. Get one with an adjustable height knee/seat, dual brakes and light weight. Don't go for just the cheapest! But not really expensive either! An added benefit to the scooter is the leg gets some exercise and doesn't shrink.

I also bought a good walker, also lightweight, dual brakes and a seat. It was a great help! I can sell it too, but have lent it to family members. I needed it for a couple of months to start weight bearing before graduating to a cane.

Plan on serious pain anytime bone surgery is planned! I already had a pain doctor, so I just got him to prescribe meds in advance. Tylenol isn't going to cut it! Plan of a couple of months pain needing opioids for bone surgery. I've had a lot of different surgeries and this one was my second worst. Surgeons are terrible about prescribing enough pain meds, so see your PCP or pain doc if you have one.

Pain during recovery:

I'm concerned about pain management post-op. I do have a pain doc right now for my back problems and that is going pretty well. However, I was told by the foot surgeon that I will likely have more pain than what is normal post surgery. He said that because of already being on pain meds, the nerves are already very sensitive to pain signals. (Not sure I understand that very well.)

At any rate, do I ask the pain doc to increase pain meds for a few weeks post surgery, or can I manage the pain with the meds I am already on? I'm also concerned that asking for more pain meds will make me look like a drug seeker and I cannot afford to lose the services of my pain doc.

Sunny, those of us that have been on pain meds a long time do need extra medication when having something like surgery. Our tolerance to medication builds up & many times the post op pain is not managed with our normal scheduled medications.

Talk to your PM dr about this before surgery. As someone else mentioned surgeons have no idea how to dose a PM patient.

Take care.