Lisfranc Foot Fracture Stories - part 3

okay, i see. the surgery part really scared me. but the only problem is that i can walk on it perfectly? at this point it doesnt really hurt at all. it isnt sore. its just terribly bruised.

hi, i dont know the chance of you actually seeing this, but i thought id try anyone, your injury sounds really similar to mine, and your a bit more positive than most, which is really nice to hear! i also did my injury falling down the stairs, i had a lisfranc fracture and i also fractured my ankle. fas forward 8 months, i had screws and wires put in, 2 surgeries to remove them with two permanent ones in my ankle. my last op was about 3 months ago but i still experience swelling everyday, as well as pain from morning to night. what do you think helped you to be pain free? and how are you now that its been a few years later?

HELLO it's been over a year since you posted. How are you doing now not having had surgery? Are you able to walk now and lead a more normal life or are you still having difficulty. If you are still reading the posts please let us know.

You told him what was wrong with you? How arrogant are you,, they got you sorted didnt they or did you instruct the surgeon too?

Hi I am a Division I college athlete and suffered a lis franc injury on June 4, 2011 in a soccer game. I was misdiagnosed for 5 weeks, then went for a third opinion and thats when they did a weight bearing xray and saw that two of my ligaments tore off my metatarsal bone. i had surgery performed on july 15 which involved installing two screws to reattach the ligaments to the bone.i was casted for 6 weeks then in a walking boot for eight..after that i began to walk in a sneaker. on dec 2 the screws were removed with a minor procedure and by the end of dec i started slowly running...finally this past spring by 8 or 9 months i was getting back into soccer shape and back on the field only to find out that the pain was still unbearable for soccer. i had a significant amount of arthritis from the first surgery. i found out last week that my only chance to potentially be pain free and to get back on the college soccer field is two fuse my 1st 2nd and 3rd joints bones..im a little nervous and unsure how this is going to affect me as an athlete, after reading your post i felt a little better knowing that your daughter is getting back into gymnastics. i was just wondering where she is at now? the fusion recovery process? etc. thanks so much!

Curious where you live and what doc you used, we live in Ky My 16 year old son is a soccer player and was tackled in a game Oct 14th 2012 first xray showed no break 4 weeks later 2nd x ray no break MRI finally showed stress fracture at base of 2nd metatarsal, but missed the LFS, So this time went to 2 foot ortho's we have had 2 opinions on my sons Lisfrancs sprain and he has a 1mm dislocation between 1st and 2nd met and had 2 totally different opinions. One suggested manipulation under live x ray with possible surgery 1 screw,surgery other doc opinion not because too much time has past since injury occurred. He is so much better than he was after initial injury, so now we are 4 months out, he wore a boot for the stress fracture only for 4 weeks weight bearing all the time then was released from the boot but since then when his foot is twisted to cut or change directions or push off he has a horrible level 10 pain not sure he can live with this my gut says do the surgery for stability, and would love for him to finish HS soccer at least.
Sally

Hi, it doesn't look as if anyone has been on here in a while, but I wanted some advice.

Back in Sept 2012, I suffered a lis franc dislocation fracture of my left foot. I went over on my ankle getting out of an suv. It was missed in the ER and my first subsequent followup due to a separate fracture on the top of the same foot, even though I had the tell-tale bruising on the bottom of the foot. I was put into a cast initially until I developed a blood clot from the injury/cast, which is also indicative of lis franc type injuries.  I'd even looked up the bruising and the blood clot and found info on lis franc before the docs diagnosed it.  So, I was in a cast for about a week, then a partial cast after the blood clot for about two weeks, then went into a boot type cast for about 6-8 weeks.  By this point, I had consulted a specialist who suggested surgery involving 5+ pins to fuse the dislocated toe bones back together, but because of the medications for the blood clot that had developed (blood thinners for 6 months), I would have to wait to have it or be hospitalized two days prior to and after the surgery.  

It's now been a year since the initial injury, no surgery yet, and the bones have healed how they healed naturally.  My ortho surge still suggests the surgery followed by 6 weeks in a hard cast and then 6 months in a boot cast. I'm in no way ready for that.  The thought of going back into a cast, missing work, etc, etc, etc.  

Soooooooo I am just wondering did anyone with this type injury forgoe surgery altogether?? I am looking for alternatives.

I can walk on the foot fine most of the time, it will hurt or swell after long hours standing or walking but other than that, it's not too bad.  I'm afraid to jog, run or otherwise do jarring activity but I need to get active again, I gained weight over the course of this past year since the injury. 

I just want to ask you how is your foot now? I am currently in you situation, I have decided not to have surgery.

i am in a similar situation, lisfrank fractures 1 doc says no need surgery just boot and wait and see, other says surgery now! pls tell me the update of your experience..thx justin

I stayed in a boot for 12 weeks with no weight at all for the full 12 weeks. I elected not to have surgery despite the doctors recommendations. I made sure to wear my boot at all times other than the shower and never put any weight on it for the full 12 weeks. After the 12 weeks the doctor was astonished as to how well my foot had healed. My injury occurred on Sept 27 2013 and I am able to walk perfectly fine on my foot and I have been able to run a little bit but not as well as I used to. I do have some pain in the foot and still I have the are on the top of my foot that looks like it is swollen all the time. I do have some issue with wearing heals and cant flex my foot as well to get it down into a boot so I have to make sure I have something that zips all the way down. If i am walking a lot I have to make sure I wear something with support (good shoe). I have found that my FILA are great and give me the support I need. Of course you may find a different that works for you. I do not regret not having surgery. I think in my situation it was not necessary. The doctor didn't tell me the extent of the surgery I had to look it up and research it. I found out that you have the hardware put in and then have to go back again and have it removed. Most people stated they were in more pain after the surgery then they were before. I would highly recommend that you research this and as long as you make sure you do not bear weight for at least 12 weeks you will probably be ok. I had also broken 4 bones in my foot and those healed perfect as well. When I went back for my follow up after weight bearing for 6 weeks the surgeon told me he was completely shocked to see how well my foot had healed and not having the surgery. Keep in mind even with surgery your foot will never be the same., So take that into consideration. I am big on researching things myself and not just taking one persons word as this is their job. I wish you the best of luck and keep us posted on how you are doing.

I had a lis franc injury 19mths ago. Misdiagnosed initially then in a boot for 4mths. Didn't require surgery. I have now developed a lump and swelling after going for a run. Lump is is really hard right on the 4th metatarsal lis franc joint. Anyone had anything like this. Waiting for X-ray results

DID YOU HAVE A SEVERED OR DISRUPTED LEGIMENT BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND MED ?

I see everyone struggling with the same problems. I managed to have a freak accident where a friend of mine collapsed down a staircase in top of me and crushed my foot. 3 fractured metatarsals and 4 dislocated tesometatsals later I needed surgery. Ended up with 2 titanium plates fusing the bones together, a bone stint fusing my third metatarsal and two pins. It's been 5 weeks since surgery and 6.5 weeks since the break and the pins come out Wednesday.

The pain sucks, but the biggest challenge is the mental one. You feel useless on crustches, needing people to carry things for you, drive you around and I work on a construction site, so I sit in the site office as a building site is no place for a man in crutches.

Still a long way to go and for someone who once did triathlons and races being told I can't run again for another 6-10 months is crushing