Calcaneus Surgery ORIF Success Stories?

Mims, I am so sorry to hear of your fate. Words can't say how bad I feel for you. Do you still have a lot of pain? I hope you have a good orthopaedic surgeon who can in time try and repair your body. Please keep going and don't give up. You are still very young and I am sure with the correct surgeon and PT you can get your body back to near normality. It will never be the same again and you will have to accept this, but try and take aim of where you want to be. Is that 80% or 90% of your former self?? That will give you something to aim for. Also surround yourself with people\family who know what you are trying to achieve and they will support you. Keep going and don't give up!
Please keep in touch

Ty Steve. Im trying my best to not be so depressed but I cant.help it when I see how my body has changed. Honestly the pain comes and goes. I had a catscan for, my foot and will see a foot surgeon in two weeks to discuss the results. I wish I never took my old body for granted. Nothing I can do now though. Really sucks to.be my age andand.have injuries.and surgeries. Im too depressed to really care at this point. 

• Mims, please don't go that route of depression. Rather think of your young age positively in the sense that you have time on your side to heal. Take it in steps, (excuse the wording)  get the way forward with your surgeon on your foot and once that is done, look at what you want to do next. I too took my body for granted and today I limp when I walk. My foot is deformed and I haven't played my beloved golf for 6 months. I might be lucky to play in Feb, but my game will never be the same. You have to accept where you are and then formulate your strategy on the way forward. You're going to have good and bad days. Have you considered or spoken with your doctor about anti depressants to get you past this stage? 
• I'm happy to keep in touch to help you get through this. Don't get depressed. Stay strong!

Thank you for the kind words and motivation Steve. I'm sorry to hear that youve been held back from golf and your foot is also deformed. It sucks to.know our bodies will never be the same again. She has talked to me about antidepressants but I'd rather not take them. I'm already on risperidone since I had a psychotic episode. They have made me.gain weight and I dont like taking them either. For my depression I was thinking about taking cbd. I heard its good for depression and anxiety. I dont know if I even want to return to work. Its pretty boring just staying in the house all day laying in my hospital bed. Ive been like this for a year with no physical therapy yet. Im so embaressed with how my body looks now. Its hard to be 26 and have physical problems when everyone else is fit and active. I know things could have been.worse though. 

I haven’t been on here for quite some time it’s nice to see this thread is continuing on and helping others like it did myself. My injury was almost two and a half years ago and was the hardest thing I had ever gone through. But after 5 surgeries with the compartment syndrome orif plate ten screws then hardware removal subtalar fusion and bone harvest I’m back at about the same capacity I was before my injury. I get a numb heal occasionally and my middle toes bother me I think I’m getting some bones shaved soon to relieve the hammer toes from tendons shrinking. My heel was bad as you can see in my photo top surgeon said 9 out of 10 for severity was shifted 30 degrees one way and 15 degrees another and I’m proof that it’s possible to recover to 85-90% pre injury. If doc recommends fusion i suggest doing it there is so much movement in my foot I’m able to walk steep roofs uneven terrain climb ladders and carry hundreds of pounds. Looking back now I realized how crazy my mind was, I got a puppy to help with the depression I was so low I wanted to die. After 6 months my doc said fusion I said no we amputate  I couldn’t think to go through it again but they knew  I was unstable and said fusion it will work and thank God they were right. Everybody’s injury is different and with different outcomes but time doesn’t stop so remember when ur doing urs this dark storm will pass in time too, and life will go on again!!

I love your outlook and words of encouragement, thank you! It’s hard in recovery mode at times, I’m two weeks out surgery and three accident. Hard being a active person to doing practically nothing. I’m staying positive and patient, but some days you just get down. I love to read recovery stories!!!

A few years back when I was 48/49 I slipped and fell off a box truck landing on my right heal and shattered it.  The surgeon needed to remove a tendon on my knee which was minor to reattach my heel to foot.  Then used a plate and 8 screws on the heel bone to hold it in place.  I have no range of motion left to right meaning no snow ski but I live in Texas so no worries.

I worked from home a few months riding a scooting to avoid up and down at the office (Tax Accounting) to avoid placing weight on it and later once healed after a few weeks of physical therapy was able to go to the office wearing a metal boot.  It has been about 5 years and the plate and screws are still in place but I still suffer some pain.  The arthritis portion I was told to expect; especially as I age.

However if I walk or stand more than 15/20 minutes I begin to feel the pressure.  While at work at my desk I am now fin in dress shoes but if I get up it takes about 5-6 steps to basically walk off the numbness and even after I have a slight limp.  I have taken 1 shot and it worked a few months which was fine the range the Dr. said these hold on is 3 - 18 months depending on pain tolerance.  I have learned that when walking I pretty much have 20 minutes on it rather I walk slow or fast.  Once that time passes I slow down to a crawl almost and my foot begins to swell.

When I got the shot the x-ray showed where all had healed properly but 1 of the screws was no flush to the bone an as either as my foot become swollen or when resting it applied pressure or pushed against the tendon.  There was no true reason as to why this happened but the one that made most sense when the Dr explained was when it was healing the bone from the inside pushed the screw just a tad out.  So I am and have been considering having the plate and all screws removed due to this.  Why ? We'll when I become 75 or whatever; I will need to get some type of oldman exercise meaning daily walks around the blocks like others.  I don't want to get home each day or evening at that age after that and be in pain that I don't want to take a walk again or always hit the tub.

The surgeon has said the hardware really serves no purpose now but the only issue to be concerned about is taking it out the fact I have to go under and a shorter recovery time.  The longer i wait the older I get making going under harder or more tricky, recovery since I am not a kid gets harder with age.

Anyone had any hardware taken out ?  Just wondering what type of reactions were experienced before and after is all.  

Thanks

Bryan (McKinney, Texas)
wstewart0261@att.net

@Mims How about considering a few sessions with the phychologist? Could help to get focused and help your mind???
@Terry Good to hear from you. I read about your accident in previous pages and you certainly had a bad accident. I have been wondering how you have healed and whether you went for amputation or not. I know you were in a bad way and very depressed. So good to hear you didn't go with amputation and that you have a good life after accident report! Thanks for keeping in touch and sharing.
@Bryan I have been advised by my ortho pod to leave the hardware in, unless it really hassles me. I am now 4.5 months post op and been walking\limping for 1.5 months. I have one PT session left and doing a lot of physio in the gym to get as much FOM as possible. My ankle is stiff most of the time, but I stretch it out often and that helps. My walking is getting stronger  and longer and I hope to play golf end of Jan, but will have to use a golf drive cart. If I can achieve 90% pre-op, I will be happy.
Can anybody confirm if walking barefoot helps to fatten the heel pad?

One last question - My surgeon cut through my Sural nerve. This has caused total numbness around the edge of my heal. Does the Sural nerve repair?

I am two weeks post op, waiting for staples to come out in two days. What can I expect next? 

Ricky good news on the staples look at it as progress; it takes time in total.  Above is what I did.

As far as what to expect; just take it easy and not over do it and try to be a hero.  My big mistake was after my staples were out and I was adjusting waiting on rehab to begin in a few weeks (still no weight allowed on it) I got anxious of course but took it easy.  The 2nd week of rehab the person who normal worked me out had to leave for the day so his boss saw me..............well she saw the main scab of course and suggested to use some cream on it to allow it to heal quicker and come off.  Not knowing we listened and got some and after a few days of it the scab began to dissolve like she said.  The problem was the actual wound did not heal properly and I basically I had a small hole where it was and my outer skin never would cover it.  When the surgeon found out he said that was his biggest gripe on physical therapy is many believe they are doctors and simply do not do what they were instructed.  So he called and chewed her out for that and I was to only see my person he selected for therapy in the 1st place and not replace him if he became unavailable.  We kept it wrapped and clean of course but it never would close up.  So once rehab wrapped up the Dr. suggested either a temporary stitch or use what he called "Pixey Dust".  Pixey Dust is basically powder that is fake skin but is not covered by insurance so it cost me 200.00 bucks for 1 treatment.  It worked as he said.

So my advice is LISTEN TO YOUR DR AND BEFORE DOING ANYTHING NEW; RUN IT PAST HIM OR AT LEAST HIS OFFICE PEOPLE.  Sure others are just trying to help of course which is fine but as you know listen to the doctor first; that is his job.  Once my staples were out; it was pretty much downhill just reminding myself to take my time.

My toughest part and it was 100% my fault period was right after out patient surgery on a Thursday.  I went home and crashed of course and got up the next morning on Friday no pain.  So I had some coffee and watched an old movie waiting for my favorite show to come on at 7:00.  Since I wasn't in any pain I passed on taking the biocodone all day.  Well about 6:45PM the surgery pain relief begane to phase out and the pain med (the bio) was to been in my system by then.  The surgeon had put in a pain pin on the side of me knee and the tube ran down my leg to my foot pumping liquid pain reliever; you set the dial from 1-10 and it has enough for about 5 days is all.  Once empty you simply disconnect the empty pain ball and pull the tube out from your knee.  Pretty much like gutting a catfish.  I cold feel the tube going up my leg and out but no pain at all.  You can "you-tube" to see the procedure of removing a Pain Pin which is what my wife did to get up the nerve to do so.  she was never a fisherman LOL.  By 10:00 PM I was in so much pain I was using words every 3 seconds.  The pain was like a roller coaster it would start a little and the peak out and all I could do was yell out a few words and it would begin to slack off but then it would do it again.  my wife had spoken to his office who was on call and was told to crank up the pain pin to 8 then eventually 10 until the Bio got into my system.  My wife was in tears I was hurting so bad and I was laughing and cussing for a few hours off and on waiting.  It was like in the movie Lonesome Dove when Gus (Robert Duvall) had Pete trying to pull out the arrows in his leg................that is all I remember.  Eventually like around 4:00AM I got enough pain meds in me and the pain pin I dozed off.  Sometime that weekend the surgeon called and the reason I was not in pain was because of the meds from the surgery and said that is why he keeps saying is to stay ahead of the pain by taking the meds as he instructed vs playing catch up like I did and dealing with all that.  Yep I was dumb and hard headed.

But again; never mind me but as I said my advice is LISTEN TO YOUR DOCTOR; believe it or not he knows what it is best vs Dr. Bryan Stewart as my wife called me once i got back on track and could take a joke.  Good luck.

Bryan Stewart

45 year old mountain biker, surfer, ice hockey coach.  I broke my right calcaneus mountain biking in North Vancouver on Oct 13, 2018.  It broke into 3 pieces and into the posterior subtalar joint.  I saw a general ortho who said the bone pieces were close enough together to stay away from surgery.  He said if he was me, he wouldn't let a surgeon near him (he was a mountain biker too--knew exactly where on the trail I did it).  I also got a follow-up appointment with a foot and ankle specialist (also a mountain biker) a couple weeks later to make sure. He agreed--no surgery.  

I spent 6 weeks with no weight bearing.  I used an iWalk2.0 and highly highly recommend it--a total game changer for me.  I also couldn't handle not being able to drive and bought a set of hand controllers off of Amazon.  They worked great.  I ended up being pretty mobile with those two purchases.  I also recommend a compression sock to help keep the swelling down during the day.

I started walking at first with two crutches after 6 weeks or so with some minimal weight bearing to start.  I quickly move to one crutch, and then none after a week or two. By January, I was starting to walk pretty well.  By mid/late January, I lost my limp. By February, I was walking 3 km out on the trails (though pretty cautiously).  In mid-February, I got a little overzealous and went a little too hard doing some one-footed calf lifts.  It set me back!  My foot hurt again and the limp came back.  I pissed off a lot of tendons and ligaments in there.  I'm almost 3 weeks since doing that and I'm just starting to lose my limp again.  It was an emotional downer to have such a set-back and I'm still not quite out of those weeds.  Doc and physiotherapist said not to worry but just give it another couple of weeks to chill out again and I should get back to my progress.

It's been 5 months since the injury.  The side-to-side/rotational flexibility on my injured foot is pretty stiff--really stiff actually.  I surf and worry about bit out how that will all go. I still have a long way to go to strengthen everything up in the foot and ankle before I try it. I know the flexibility won't come back to where it was, but I'm hoping to see some continued improvement with some daily stretches.  The front to back is a little stiff, but not terrible. My Achilles tendon is still tight. And the tendons along the outside of my heel (peroneous tendons?) are pretty painful especially when I first stand up after sitting a while.  The muscles on my injured leg (especially the calf) are still noticeably smaller than the other leg.  I am doing strength training a few times a week, so hopefully those start really coming back (they have started coming back a little).  I find it so hard to work my calf without over-doing it (the pain of over-doing is always delayed, so I need to be careful).  

Another pisser is I've lost almost all of the sensation on the bottom of my big toe.  The top is fine.  The ball of my foot is fine.  But the bottom of my big toe....not so good.  I can move it just fine, but can't feel when something touches it.  Feels like a wood toe.  Kind of gross feeling.  My doc says it might start coming back over the next year, but might not.  If not, he says my brain will adjust to it and it won't feel so gross after a while.  

I've been riding the stationary bike and can't wait to feel confident enough to get back on some gentle trails in April or May.  I have no idea when I'll trust it enough to try surfing again.  Hopefully summer....but who knows.  Confident walking is the first goal (rather than a somewhat ginger stride and barely off of a limp).  Also hoping to get back on ice skates come September.  

A few posts mention significant improvement from months 6 to 12.  Looking forward to that!

Newbie here, make 39, no rocks to climb here but physically active.  I’m a farmer and feb 22, 2019 I fell off a semi trailer 12’.  Shattered both heel bones, bilateral calcaneus fracture to be specific.  Had surgery on left heel same evening, installed 2 screws down through heel.   Surgeon says right bone is severely broken but fragments are aligned so he advised no surgery. 18 days into this, had post op appointment today.  They removed splints and stitches from surgery.  I am now in hard casts for 4 more weeks.   Until today I didn’t realize how serious of an injury this is.  Surgeon has been cautiously optimistic but not very informative in what to expect.  I now realize that this is a game changing injury. Not really sure what I will do as I can not work on the farm.  We have a crop to plant in May and I’m not going to be very able to do much.  I have some hired help but they do not know the totality of my farm.  Doc is optimistic that I can bear weight by May for planting.  I will take this one day at a time.  My wife has been a great supporter but was not happy and accused me of being a quitter after I read some of the issues I may expect.  I want to be optimistic but I need to be very realistic that I will not be able to fulfill my job duties for an extended period of time and/or some not at all.  Pain was severe at time of accident. Was on oxicodone and tramadol for pain.  I took last pain med of any kind at 1 week post accident.  Right foot feels good, left foot has stinging/tingling discomfort/pain.  Feet both swollen when we took splints off today.  Limited to no motion in either feet when splints were off. Thanks for the postings of everyone’s stories, gives a persona glimpse of what to expect.  

Andy.  I have no advice for operative management of heel fracture but this whole thread has advice and experiences about that.  I broke my heel in October and non-operative management was advised - just like your right foot.  It was super painful for 2 days then no pain.  I was told initially 6 weeks non-weight-bearing (in a boot which I took off at night as well as crutches), then at my next appointment I was told 12 weeks, then the next appointment I was told 8 weeks.  At this point I decided that the actual number of weeks recommended was somewhat arbitrary - and my 4 1/2 week Xrays showed healing bone along the fracture lines, so at 5 weeks I started weightbearing on it.  It really hurt while walking and standing for another week or so and I had to take it easy.  But I'd say by 8 weeks even though it was still a bit sore I was doing everything pretty much normally.  I'm now 5 months out and it's like it never happened.  Good luck.

Your subtalar joint will give you the most problems.

Thank you so much for all the informative responses! It's been 4 years now since my accident, where I took a near 30ft ground fall and completely shattered my left heel, and damaged my subtalar joint. I had my heel reconstructed with a cadaver bone, metal plate and handful of screws. I'm still able to climb hard and even do tricks on my unicycle.

Now, the negative effects of this have been: Slight loss of articulation when I rotate my ankle, a little loss of balance and strength in my left foot/leg compared to my strengthened right foot which has compensated for it, and lastly if I'm hiking and take a forceful step on a rock that makes contact just so under my shoe, lined up below my ankle, I'll receive a sharp twinge of pain, as if I lost a shock absorbed in my left foot since the subtalar joint is damaged.

Thanks again for all the contributions to this thread!

4 years later and still looking for inspiration. I'm 7 months into my compound heel fracture. Day by day is all I can say.

I read somewhere about the pessimism of the surgeons or their Physician's assistants. All I can say is that is very real and if you are resigned to live on the couch for the rest of your life then do so but I'm not letting this stop me.

I should add that I'm full weight bearing but definitely having issues with stamina and swelling.  I hope it gets better but atleast its not where it was the night after surgery.

For those out there in the struggle,  keep your chin up.  You CAN do this. 

Any consensus on how long one waits to have Hardware removed?

You can ask me after Thursday the 11th (5/11/19).  After 7 plus years (5 years to late) I am having surgery to remove mine (plate & 7 screws).  Doc said today that removing the hardware is no thing, the bone spurs, I have 2 also no thing.  What is gonna hurt is the scraping and cleaning of the tendon along that spot.  2 of the screws backed out a hair over time and that is leading to the additional pain.  The tendon scaring and swelling.  Cleaning the scar tissue off that and waiting to heal he said 4-6 weeks with 6 being the better pick.

Nothing they can do about the arthritis he saw on the CT scan to confirm except for a full blown fusion that will eliminate that since my foot will no longer try and move side ways like snow skiing movement.  The catch was recovery is about 7 months.  

So we are going with hardware removal and then deal with it aka it is what it is.  Besides everyone has issues and with arthritis they have meds for that if ever needed. No cast just a boot and he said one sore foot for a few weeks but come summertime I will be good as new except when it flares up due the arthritis thing.  

As far as waiting I believe it is 18 months once the bone has healed and before removing you will be checked by not just x-rays but CT scans as well to confirm there are no hairline fractures and it is in fact the bone has healed.  Once the bone is healed it serves no purpose period in or out.

I am now 9 months post op with having a plate and screws inserted from my broken heel bone. I am walking and playing golf, but it's a bit uncomfortable at times. Still some swelling on the inner side of my foot and still feels very "planky" on the bottom part. My surgeon told me it's not necessary to remove the plate or screws. I am not sure if I want to remove the hardware or not, but if I did decide to remove it, my biggest fear would be infection within the hospital or after. So far, apart from weird feelings and some lack of full movement, I can't really complain. I am walking and playing golf, whereas when I had my foot up, that's all I wanted to do!!
I am seeing a Biokinetikist now (as opposed to a physio) and not sure if this is the correct rehab or not as my surgeon has given me no guidance in this area. If anybody has used a Bio, please comment.