LISFRANC FOOT

SKH - My Dr. said he is definately taking the screw out because I am active and want to remain active. I guess he used a hollow screw in order to avoid having to drill a hole in my bone first, instead he used a >1mm guide pin then the hollow screw over top of the guide pin, then he removed the guide pin, this way you preserve most of the bone. I guess with a hollow screw they can weaken or back out over time or break if you do not remove them.

My Dr. told me that removing the screw is not a big procedure in my case - keep in mind I only have one hollow screw. He said I would basically walk out of the surgery and it would be tender for a couple of days. I am assuming he will just be numbing the heck out of it (and at my request hopefully giving me some good drugs so I don't think about it).

I will definately keep you guys updated as to what happens.

Hello Everyone, just wanted to update. Here I am at 7 weeks after surgery. I started walking without crutches, full weight bearing, at 6 weeks. I hope that wasnt to early, but my Doc just told me to start working my foot to rehab it as much as I can tollerate. My foot feels alright, just alittle tight and swells a little after walking alot. The real pain comes from my knee, I don't know if it was a another injury along with my foot? It may also be from just not using it for 2 months. I am hoping to go back to work the 1st of Sept. I hope you are all healing well.
Also on the topic of hardware removal vs not:
I plan on having the 4 screws removed for the reason if they are left in and end up breaking then removal would be extremely complicated. I have also heard that hardware removal is not a big deal, a couple of days taking it easy afterwards. No big deal after all the time we have been lounging with our injured foot in the air. Take care all

I am the 70 year old lisfranc injury....I am not having the screws removed...the doctor told me on four visits that "they" are now saying the screws don't have to be removed on older patients....he says if stiffness develops they can be removed later....he would prefer that they come out now, but it has been a tough year & I'm not up to it.....I have been fitted for orthotics & he says that should help...still have a limp & swelling comes & goes. My surgery was on April 18th...had 8 weeks of physical therapy which helped a lot.

A chiropractor that had the same injury to the same foot from Wakeboarding (same way I got my injury) said he highly recommends taking a proteolytic enzyme supplement to help with swelling and inflamation. I did some research and I ordered some today - the active ingredient is Bromelain. If you google it you can find plenty of info - I figure anything that might help reduce healing time is worth giving a try.

I go for my 10 week post op tomorrow, I am nervous and hope the Doc has good news for me.

Timmy, I have not heard of Bromelain. When I broke my foot, however, a friend of mine told me about Comfrey, a herb known to promote bone healing, as well as healing of tissues, generally. I am not a herbalogist, nor am I well versed in homeopathic remedies (I don't even like taking anything that's been FDA approved, never mind other stuff). I did the research, and found that Comfrey, taken internally over a long period of time, is known to cause liver toxicity. Over a short period of time, however, it seems to be fine, though it is primarily recommended as a poultice over wounds/fractures, rather than as an internal treatment. On my friend's advise, I've been taking tincture of Comfrey internally for 3 weeks - 3 times a day, 8 drops in a glass of water. I stopped yesterday. For about 2 weeks, I also put it over the incision. I don't know if it helped, but I thought that for a short period of time, I could at least try it. My friend used it to heal his fractured collar-bone enough in 3 weeks (as opposed to 6 weeks) to go back to teaching downhill skiing. Anyway, if Bromelain has no side effects, it sounds like it might be worth a shot. Good luck and let me know what happens!

Just got back from my 10 week post op - No more crutches and they got me in tomorrow morning at the hospital for the removal of my screw! I will be walking in my boot until tomorrow morning then I am on my own! I will be going to physical therapy to get some strength back.

CONGRATS, that's awesome! Just in time for your pending new arrival!!! Let me know how they go about removing the screw - i.e. anesthesia, demerol, etc., and what to expect in terms of pain, etc. WOW, that's the best news I got yet - the possibiltiy of removal at 10 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oops, I forgot to add that for each foot position (1 - 5), you do a plie and then you go up on the balls of your feet and then you change to a new foot position and start again. I do the plies twice - once for each side. This helps strengthen all the muscles in your foot and leg.

Sorry for the omission.

Has anyone tried these?

Kelly

Screw removal was a breeze - They put in an IV, took me back to surgery at 10:45 where the gave me a MAC or Twilight sedation and also numbed the foot. Basically its like injecting a couple of Martini's into your veins XD I was out of there by 11:30 and home by 1:30.
I was pretty out of it but was talking to them when they we're finishing up, I asked how it went and if I could keep the screw. The Doc got a kick out of that.

I have a couple of stitches and its a little tender from the incision, I am full weight bearing with the boot until the stitches come out (10-14 days). I went to Wal Mart on the way home from surgery and was moving stuff and organizing around the house getting ready for the new baby until 10:00 PM the same day of my surgery and it feels good today at work. I will be doing some rehab after the stitches are gone to get some strength back. I might even get a couple of surf sets in before summer ends!

Timmy, enjoy it! Have a quick question - when did you first start putting any weight on it ? I can put my foot down when I'm standing, but I don't lean on it at all - feels good - wondering if I can put ANY weight on it safely. It'll be 5 weeks since surgery in 3 days, and, of course, I'm itching to ditch the crutches...

Opps, I forgot to add the flow of the exercise. While doing the exercises, hold on to a chair or stair banister for support and balance while standing straight and tall. The exercises below will help strengthen all the muscles in your foot and leg.

In each foot position (1 - 5) you do the following for the right foot:
- plie (down and then up),
- go up on demi-point or the balls of your feet (up and then down),
- change position,
- start over with your left foot.

Sorry for the omission.

Let me know if it helps anyone else.

Kelly

He let me do partial weight bearing with 2 crutches after 6 weeks, this means 25 % of your weight when walking. Ligaments take 6-8 weeks to heal I guess. I'm no Dr. but just standing there you should be fine if you are leaning on your 'good' foot, I started doing that after a few weeks if I was cooking or doing something that didn't involve walking or repetitive pressure. Sometimes I didn't have a choice but to hobble around on my heel, with a wife that works full time and a 2 year old.





Kelly, looking forward to trying some of those in a couple weeks!

Timmy,
So good to hear that the screw removal went so well for you. I would like to know how your foot feels in a few weeks & how is the swelling?

I'm really thinking about making an appt. w/my Dr. ( ortho surgeon) to request to have my screws removed. I'm also puzzled as to why my Dr. never mentioned thearpy for me?? Oh well, I'll bring that up too.

Kelly- I have not yet tried the exercises... by the time I get home from work, my foot is killing me & too swollen... I will print them off & try soon.

Timmy- We have a 2 year old also... not so easy chasing after him with my foot, ha ha! It sounds like a new one is on the way for you-congrats!!

SKH

SKH - I specifically asked my Ortho Dr about physiotherapy on 2 separate occasions about 1 month apart and one time he said "they could do more damage than good". Anyhow, I still went for physio (now and then) just to check on what kind of exercises I should do but I felt I had really more experience under my belt than they did. If you go, make sure they don't give you ultrasound treatments as it is painful if you have broken bones. Instead, they gave me some sort of light therapy and electric shock treatments (I forget what they're called).

Timmy - Congrats on the forthcoming addition to the family.

Foot exercises - I only do 1 set (positions 1 - 5) with each foot per day, if my foot is feeling great then I do 2 sets (one in the morning and one at night). I noticed a difference right away. After about 4 days, I had to reach for something in a cupboard and had to go up on my toes and the stability in my foot was incredible - all things considered. I also hold on to the stairs for support and I don't go up on my toes for too long as that seems to hurt my foot afterwards. Every time I sit down now, I put my foot up.

To compare what my feet used to be able to go through. I had one dance (a loooooong time ago), where we used to go up and down on our toes in rapid succession 8 times on each foot. It used to kill my calves - I was 14 years old at the time. The other thing about the exercises I am suggesting, dancers do these exercises for years before they are allowed to go up on point in order to strengthen all the muscles in their feet.

I've also incorporated swimming into my routine (I used to be a swimming instructor). I go every other day. Keep in mind, I'm also recovering from abdominable surgery which seems to be a lot better than my foot. Anyhow, I have problems walking with no shoes to the pool but then when I get to swimming I seem to be okay. I'm doing front crawl with a light flutter kick, lots of breast stroke which doesn't seem to bother my foot (oddly enough). I'm also doing lots of egg beater kicks.

Let's get better FAST, no FASTER than FAST as my son would say!

Cheers everyone, Kelly

hi all -- i'm almost 4 wks out of surgery when they put 3 screws in the 1st three bones & k-wires in last 2 bones. The foot seems to be coming along, however, I'm having a lot of pain in my calf. It started about 2 weeks ago and then disappeared for a couple of days. Now it's back with a vengeance. I don't feel it as bad with my boot on. I'm thinking it's a muscular thing. Have any of you experienced this problem? Any input is appreciated. Thanks!