Ankle orif 16wks ago still in lot of pain .

Foot care
1

Hi as the title says i broke my ankle 16wks ago ,had a weber b fracture .I had surgery in which a plate and 8 screw were put in my ankle.It has always been painful from day one and it is not going away.

I am having physio and the break has healed and the physio is currently treating it now as damaged ligaments as the pain is directly where the ligament is.I went for my fracture clinic appt and the consultant was suprised that i am still using crutches and ankle brace and that it should be healed by now .But he could understand because it is painful when i walk but i am.able to weight bear.

He thinks it is the hardware and has put me on waiting list to take it out .The area over my ankle is sore to touch and the pain travels in an arc shape down my ankle and sometimes upwards and it feels like its burning .The consultant has said taking hardware out may not solve this . I just the previous month had surgery on the cartlidge in my knee .So thought of a 3rd surgery in 6mths is something I really i am really struggling with .

I would really appreciate any thoughts ,experiences and advice .I am just thinking has it been given chance to heal ,i am the worlds worst at sitting resting it and i have children so dont get a lot of chance to sit down .

The physio said ligaments can take a long time so i would hate to go through another surgery and find it was all for nothing.I also have an underactive thyroid so surgery sends it haywire it did last surgery.

Apologies for the really long post just cannot make my mind up what to do .

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Have you talked to your surgeon about this?

I would call them and see what they have to say

3

Hello

I am 10 months out of ORIF surgery and I have found that finding patience has been my biggest challenge.

Mine has been a difficult and complicated recovers I am still in pain but decided to wait to remove my hardware even though it was suggested. I couldn't face opening up the scar again and, I too, have had many soft tissues issues which were calmed by guided steroid under anaesthetic

Go with your gut instinct as you know your body and its healing capacity and also consider the professionals. Always get a second opinion when in doubt

Good luck

4

PS

If your Physio said you have soft tissue issues, why not have that confirmed first with an ultra-sound. That will show up any inflamed areas. Mine were treated with immediate success with guided steroid injections.

I still have my hardware in and although I am not better, I am walking 30 mins a day. I feel a strain pain from the plates and the screws and going up flights of stairs creates a sharp pain but, for me, having spent so much time in recovery, managing scar tissue massage daily, I didn't want another anaesthetic nor have to go through another, albeit minor, skin healing again

Again, you have a lot to weigh up