ankle_surgery

Please Note: This page is graphic. Unless you’ve already been in the medical field, enjoy bloody movies, or have a strong stomach, you might want to visit another page. For those of you who don’t know, I’ve worked in the medical field. Gross pics are cool.

For those of you didn’t know, my right ankle has been a pain in my rear for as long as I can remember. I sprained it badly as a child and now the ligaments are loose. I sprain it frequently and don’t have much stability. I wound up fracturing it in Nov. 2006. while unloading the car at a draft trial combined with falling off a horse. Since then, it has been painful to walk on for an extended amount of time. Skating (ice and inline) has helped tremendously in reducing pain, building muscle, and keeping it stable, however it is not a cure. Anyways, I got it fixed finally. Again, Don’t look at the pics unless you have a strong stomach. Oh, and crutches hurt. I learned quite a bit on crutches.

Tips for surgery:

Workout like a nut before hand. You’ll recover 100000x faster. I skated for 2-4 hours daily before the surgery. 2 weeks after the surgery, I lost all muscle mass in my right leg. Seriously, I had chicken leg. It was so atrophied that I could not flex the muscles. However, I regained that muscle back within 10 days or so of walking.
Start moving as soon as your doctor allows (and safely). This will help with the healing party. No one heals fast while having a pity party. 7 weeks after the surgery, I was allowed to skate again. And skate I will.
Arnica. Comes in topical and oral pellets. I swear by this stuff. I also put the topical gel on any bruises, sore spots, and another trauma related areas. It is great for pain and healing. This stuff is so good that I never took pain medication after leaving the hospital. All I got was the morphine (that I can remember anyways). This is available at many grocery stores and almost all health food stores or online. It is also safe for the dogs.
May 16th, 2007 7:30am-ish. Dr. James Giles is going to remove bone and cartilage fragments, insert a dissolving screw to reattach some of the ligaments and then sew up the loose or torn ligaments. Please note that I’m already knocked out at this point. A kind nurse took the pictures for me.

Pre-scalpel.

Open up.

What was that?

I think that’s the screw.

Sew it up!

Oh, That hurts!

Stapled and Shut Case.

The new soft Boot. Basil especially found this fun to play with. She would jump on it, hit it with her paw, and try to pull my toes out. Lovely.

What’s this? Leftover electrode. I wonder if they’re going to bill me 219.99 for it? I should have charged them for the cheap feel when they were removing the electrodes on my chest.

May 30th, 2007 1:15 pm First follow-up visit. Removing the bandage. Since Dr. Giles thinks that I am a responsible patient, I’m going straight into a walking boot and not a hard cast. 2 more weeks of non-weight bearing.