So today I went up to Baltimore to see an OS there for my continued problems with my ankle. My OS wanted a second opinion from this guy to confirm his thoughts or make sure he didn't miss anything.
Sooo we waited for a couple hours and this doc came in- he was great! Super nice and knowledgable. Did a bunch of stuff with my ankle, looked at all the films (we could hear him in the hallway talking to the other doc who initially came in to just make notes of stuff and they couldn't believe the extent of the injury... I didn't know it was THAT awful...).
Basically, he said that my peroneal tendon is torn- not across the tendon but along the tendon (so it was very, very hard to notice on the MRI....). He also said that the ligament is really loose and needs to be tightened up. The OS said I can continue to ride very lightly (in his words "nothing meaningful, but if it makes you happy, then do it... happiness is important with this type of injury".
So I have to have surgery. In his words "it's not going to magically fix itself"... basically I'll have about a 4" incision along the tendon, part of the tendon will be removed and then it will be stitched up... and then my ligament will somehow be tightened (don't really remember how he said he does that). I asked about the subluxation and he said that it's possible but he doesn't think that's the primary cause- but if he gets in there and notices that it is, then he'll work on it.
Recovery time: NWB for 10 days if all goes as planned, then 6 weeks PWB in the boot. After 3 months I can start riding again lightly, if all goes well. Doc said about a 90% success rate with this surgery.
This totally sucks, but I kind of expected it. It's a relief to actually know what's going on (and that I wasn't crazy when I thought something more was wrong!!!) and have a plan in place. This means I'll miss quite a bit of work though... my boss is amazing so she'll understand but still it sucks. Not sure exactly when surgey will be, hopefully soon- but I see my normal OS on Monday to go over and see whether he feels comfortable doing the surgery or if he'd rather the other OS do it. I'll keep everyone posted.
Sooo we waited for a couple hours and this doc came in- he was great! Super nice and knowledgable. Did a bunch of stuff with my ankle, looked at all the films (we could hear him in the hallway talking to the other doc who initially came in to just make notes of stuff and they couldn't believe the extent of the injury... I didn't know it was THAT awful...).
Basically, he said that my peroneal tendon is torn- not across the tendon but along the tendon (so it was very, very hard to notice on the MRI....). He also said that the ligament is really loose and needs to be tightened up. The OS said I can continue to ride very lightly (in his words "nothing meaningful, but if it makes you happy, then do it... happiness is important with this type of injury".
So I have to have surgery. In his words "it's not going to magically fix itself"... basically I'll have about a 4" incision along the tendon, part of the tendon will be removed and then it will be stitched up... and then my ligament will somehow be tightened (don't really remember how he said he does that). I asked about the subluxation and he said that it's possible but he doesn't think that's the primary cause- but if he gets in there and notices that it is, then he'll work on it.
Recovery time: NWB for 10 days if all goes as planned, then 6 weeks PWB in the boot. After 3 months I can start riding again lightly, if all goes well. Doc said about a 90% success rate with this surgery.
This totally sucks, but I kind of expected it. It's a relief to actually know what's going on (and that I wasn't crazy when I thought something more was wrong!!!) and have a plan in place. This means I'll miss quite a bit of work though... my boss is amazing so she'll understand but still it sucks. Not sure exactly when surgey will be, hopefully soon- but I see my normal OS on Monday to go over and see whether he feels comfortable doing the surgery or if he'd rather the other OS do it. I'll keep everyone posted.
I hope your surgery goes well and you heal quickly!
