Ankle Surgery Update: Day 19 Post-Op

It's hard to believe Tuesday will be 3 weeks, or 21 days exactly, from my ankle surgery. All in all, I seem to be recuperating more rapidly than I thought I would, which I'm thrilled about!

My incision looks a lot better; most of the scabbed over areas are gone along with a top layer of epididymis. It peeled like sunburned or blistered skin...not sure why.

I returned the knee roller to OrthoCarolina on Thursday of last week, instead using the walking cast with or without crutches, much to my wife's consternation. The PA at OrthoCarolina, Mike, told us that he didn't want me to put more than 50% of my normal weight on the leg for about 3 weeks - that was about 12 days ago.

So, to recap, I'm able to walk fairly normally with just a walking cast - but my left leg gets tired after an hour or two of being upright. Elevating it with the cast off for a few minutes helps a lot - I guess the pressure of the cast still interferes with the blood flow and causes soreness.

Confidentially, today I tried some careful walking...a few feet in the bedroom...without the cast. I don't think I'm ready to attempt any normal walking yet...maybe by next weekend. Caroline and I are going to Charleston with friends so I'm sure there'll be a lot of walking there!

Also, this past week I found a site that explains my procedure in great detail. http://www.footsurgeryatlas.com/lib/foot/hindfoot/tendon-hindfoot/tibialis-posterior-tendon-debridement/operation/1
My doctor explained that I needed both a debridement and FDL tendon transfer.  The surgical pictures are from a right leg whereas mine was on my left leg. Still very helpful to my understanding of just what was done and what I can expect on recovery.