Lisfranc Foot Fracture Stories-part 2

Thanks! Good advice. That's part of the reason I need to make small local trips (sports practice). I'm renting a knee-walker/roller this week so I can help with the dishes, feed the cat, etc. At 7 weeks are you allowed any weight bearing on the right foot?

Stiches and cast removed 2 weeks after surgery. I am on crutches, boot, and no weight bearing for 6 more weeks. I go back on 12 March (8 weeks since surgery). I hope to start weight bearing in boot at that point.

Thanks ggb, my next appt. is at 6 weeks post-op and I thought I might get to bear a little weight on the foot after that but now I'm not so hopeful. Please put up a post after your 8 week visit, I'd like to know what I'm in for with that first experience stepping down on the "new" foot.



In case anyone else has a knee-walker, I got mine and am shocked it doesn't have pivoting wheels so in order to turn it I have to lift it up and shift it around bit by bit. To turn it around 180 degrees I have to lift it from the front handle and pivot on the rear wheels about 6 times. Not the convenience I expected. I called a couple of manufacturers and was told it's that way because pivoting wheels are unsafe. Anyone have one of the 3 wheel ones that can actually turn? Just curious.

rtftbrk - I never got a knee-walker and have been getting around on crutches ok. The walker would have been nice around the kitchen and in my office. Yes, I am real anxious for next week's appointment. Initially, the surgeon told me I never would run again which was very disappointing since I recently completed my first marathon and enjoy running. 2 weeks after surgery, he was more optimistic. At this point, I am just looking forward to walking! GGB

ggb - I had rotator cuff surgery a decade ago (injured weight lifting) and was told I'd never be able to reach the arm up my back. I did the therapy and exercised and stretched the arm and by the end of the year I could reach the arm up higher than my other arm, certainly as high as before the injury. So I wouldn't believe that "never run again" line. Doctors cover their bases by saying things like that but if you're athletic I've found that you just work through whatever you have to work through, even if it's occasionally uncomfortable or painful, and get back to where you want to be. Good luck with it, I'm sure you'll be marathoning again.

hi.. i had surgery about 2 weeks ago. dr is the best foot surgeon in town thank god for that. he put in 7 pins and they will be removed 8 weeks post op. at this point i will begin to weight bear. my only question to any and all of you is how long did u wait to get up on crutches.. whenever i get u pmy foot kills so i sit back down. i hear that if your foot is getting little shocks this could lead to compartment syndrome. let me know when you guys began crutching and for how long at a time. thank you and good luck to everyone in the lisfranc club

I had 1 screw and surgeon asked me keep it elevated as much as possible for first 30 days with only crutching to the restroom and bed. After 4 weeks, I started getting around more and back to work.

I try to elevate my foot as much as possible at work. The first few weeks I was religious about tracking my diet ( thedailyplate.com ) but it's been harder since going to back to work.

I finally rented a knee walker and thought I'd post my experiences. I just found out my doctor approves one for anytime after surgery and wish I had done this a couple of weeks ago. Anyway 4 weeks post-op I called all local prosthetic and med supply stores listed in the yellow pages (southern New Jersey) and found only one that rented one model. $125 a week for what's called a Drive Knee Walker which looks like a little shopping cart. When my wife brought it home I was shocked that the front wheels didn't pivot, which means to move in anything other than a straight line you have to lift up the front of the walker, which your knee is resting on, and yank it to the right or the left, roll a bit, then lift and yank again. To make a 180 degree turn you have to lift and yank about 6 times. It was useless to me since I wanted to roll around the kitchen island and cook and do other chores in a tight space. Another brand called "Roll-a-bout" is the same thing. I called Roll-a-bout and they said it was safer to use one without wheels that turn, but I have since found out that's not the case.

Turns out there are several models that have turning wheels including the Rolleraid, the Invacare Knee Walker

also the Weil Knee Walker, and the one I ended up renting called the "Turning Leg Caddy".

The Weil looks like the only one that has only 3 wheels. The Rolleraid is similar to it, with handlebars and tricycle look, but two wheels close together in the rear providing a little more stability. There are videos on the internet of the Rolleraid in use. I came close to renting the Invacare, which looks like the Drive model, and the Roll-a-bout, but the front wheels pivot. That was appealing but the wheels are 5" diameter and the Turning Leg Caddy has 8" diameter wheels. Larger wheels I felt would be more sturdy and go over floor transitions, like from wood or vinyl to carpet, more easily.

The Turning Leg Caddy has a web site from which you can search local dealers, and I found one close enough that my wife could pick it up last night. It was a home business and she picked it up at 8PM. It works great. The wheels don't turn terribly far, they have a stop at about 30 degrees or so, I'm sure because if they turn too far it could tip, or go one way while your body went the other. So occasionally I have to lift and pivot, or back up and maneuver again to go forward the correct direction. But it's head and shoulders over the Drive model where the wheels don't pivot. I feel secure on it, and I was able to wash dishes, make my daughter's lunch for school, and some other kitchen chores, and that's all I wanted. For the next month I'm sure it will be a great help.

The biggest problem is that there is no one place to try all these out. Shipping costs for some can be high, though *** people have free shipping. I'd like to have an Invacare to try out next to this one and see which I like the most, but being on my second model already this is enough. And Aetna doesn't reimburse for knee walkers, even though I have durable medical equipment coverage. So it's $160 for the pleasure of standing up, foot and knee, to roll around the kitchen for a month.

Hello to all the Lisfranc members

I have not posted for quite a long while and noticed there were quite a number of new lisfranc members. Everyone would have known by now that it's a long road to healing.

In my case, I injured my foot mid Aug 06 and had surgery done on 4th Sept 06 - 1 metal plate for my twisted fracture and 2 screws for the lisfranc. I was on non weight bearing for 2 months (on crutches) and 1 month partial weight bearing after the surgery. After that is physiotherapy.
It was indeed difficult to pass those days. The feeling was great when you are off the crutches never mind how slow you walk.

It took 9 months for the swelling to subside completely. I was able to walk without any limp thereafter. There were follow ups with the doctor and each time I have to take an xray for the doctor to see if there's any improvement. I was then walking like any normal person on the road but
I don't dare to run (anything can happen to the implants inside).

It was only one and a half years later that my fracture fully healed, so the doctor arranged to have my implants removed on the 13th Feb 08. I was actually looking forward to that day and understand that I should be able to walk after the day surgery (also noted from those who posted in the thread that they can walk). Oh my goodness, guess what? I seems that I am going through the same process as one and a half years back. When I woke up after the surgery, I was tearing and the nurse had to calm me. They had my foot wrapped and I am on non-weight bearing till I see my doctor 2 1/2 weeks later to have my stitches removed. So right now I am on crutches again, grrh!! Back to square one, but one consolation - no more screws and metal parts in my foot. I wonder when can I start walking again :-(

Shall update after my next visit.

Just got out of my 8 week post-surgery appointment. The good news....X-rays showed lisfranc well aligned with no swelling, pain, or other complications. The bad news...Ortho wants me to continue with no weight bearing for 4 more weeks. After the additional 4 weeks on crutches, I can begin weight bearing for 2 weeks in boot followed by 2 weeks in shoe with an insert. Surgery to remove my screw is scheduled for 13 May.

It's amazing how bad these injuries are. Sporelady, did you get plates removed? I have two plates held in with 10 screws that I was told will never come out. I have two long screws that will come out after 6 months. I hope I don't go through what you are.

ggb, likewise, I've got my 6 week apt. in a week and I'm hoping for good news but I can see you just never know how conservative the doctor is going to be or how long the surgery is really going to take to heal.

Right now I'm just amazed at how much swelling I've got 5 weeks after surgery and how much pressure I feel when I put the foot down.

rtftbrk, I had 1 plate with 4 screws for my 2nd metatarsal (twisted fracture) and 2 long screws for the lisfranc injury removed at one go.It took 1 1/2 years for my fracture to heal. It does not make sense for the doctor to do 2 operations to remove the screws first and then the metal plate. I am glad that finally all the hardwares are out.

I am keeping all these plate and screws for my souvenir. I have to use the crutches right now. I can see that my toes still cannot touch the floor. I am guessing it may take 1 month for my foot to heal. Hopefully.

Anyway, good luck to all and take care.

I finally made it back to the weight room today for an upper body workout. Not much fun manuevering around on crutches but it felt good to work muscles. 3 more weeks until weight-bearing in boot.

I'm 31 years old and wrecked my left lisfranc last Tuesday playing basketball. My foot got stuck to the court somehow (nobody around me) while the ball was going over my head. I lunged for it but my foot didn't move, causing all the weight of my body to cross over my foot and I fell to the ground.

Had the surgery last Wednesday and I don't know too much about it yet. The surgeon hasn't had any time to talk to me since the operation. One of the residents who was there during the operation came to my room at 625 am while I was half-asleep to check on me but I couldn't really formulate all of my questions for her.

From what I understand, I have 6 screws in my foot. I don't know any more than that. What types of questions should I ask when I have my post-op follow up appt in a couple of days? I think I had ligament damage as well, might have torn the whole thing for all I know.

It doesn't hurt much right now and I'm largely off of the painkillers; I've only been really taking a couple percocet at night time. It tends to hurt when I let it hang down and let the blood get to it, and I get a tingling/numbness sensation as well. I have been checking routinely for compartment syndrome but I think I am OK there as my toes arent turning blue or anything and I still have tactile sensation down there. As long as I keep the foot elevated, it seems OK.

I know I have a long road ahead of me for recovery. I've read horror stories and success stories both on this board, both of which have brought me to tears. I don't really know what's going to happen, but I've been told my injury was quite bad (none of these seem any good, doesn't matter how many screws you have)... I'm NWB I'm going to guess for 2-3 months and then PWB in the cast, from most people's examples on here. I just hope that I can walk again and am not in for a life of chronic pain. My aim is to be able to play basketball again but I don't know if that's too ambitious.

I'll be checking in every so often. I might even start a lisfranc rehab blog since I have not seen anything like that out there.

bogglor, good luck with it, it does get better though for me and others I've read about it's sloooow to heal. I was told though that the recovery with surgery is not as long as without, though I'm sure that depends on the injury. A couple of questions you may have already thought of:
- Will all or any of the screws come out and when (I've got 2 big ones across the big toe and 10 small ones holding plates on the 2nd and 3rd metatarsals, and only the 2 big ones come out, after 6 months. Again it seems to vary by person, doctor, and injury.)
- Are you approved for a knee walker? My doc approves one anytime after surgery and now that I've finally got one it's really made a difference to be able to move around the kitchen without crutches. See my previous post about them.
- If you are, see if your insurance company will cover it as "durable medical equipment." Some apparently do, but mine (Aetna) didn't.

On the pain putting the foot down, for me it was 2 weeks before it wasn't so bad in the morning when first rolling out of bed, but then would get worse later in the day. Now, after almost 6 weeks, it's pretty good most of the day but comes and goes in the evening. Mostly my toes now feel like they're swelling up. I found putting the foot down slowly and then putting it up for a minute, then trying again, it usually wasn't so bad the second time. Don't know why.