Recovery Rate from Fasciotomy?? Does it work?

Dear Mgoettel,

I have not the surgery but keep up with the forum for a loved one who has CECS. I am very familiar with recovery from operations and I have to say what you're going through does not sound normal at all.

Please call your Doctor ASAP!!!! Do you see signs of infection? Redness, swelling, area becoming warm at all? You don't want to lose your leg to infection.

My other thought is the fascia is creating scar tissue and not healing correctly. It may be blocking blood flow to your ankle and shin, or it may be closing up when it should be open. Regardless, you need to see a doctor right away. I think personally you should go to Emergency room.

Are you currently on Antibiotics to prevent infection? Maybe they need to increase the dose or change to a better one.

You have the highest pressure test I've heard of so far. Please take care of this NOW. Before it gets worse! If you call your doc he can meet you at the ER.

Best of luck to you. Please keep me/us posted.

Hi Guest....

Can you please tell me more about fasciectomy? I have not found much about this procedure at all on Google except for a small mention that it is sometimes carried out if a fasciotomy does not work. My partner is in a similar situation to others on this forum after a failed fasciotomy 3 years ago and now lives in constant pain and discomfort. A CPS test before the operation revealed scores in 80/90 and after the operation still around 60/70 with even more discomfort due to nerve damage, etc.

Appreciate any info you have on this procedure....

Thanks

Hello everyone! I'm in my senior year of high school and have recently been diagnosed with chronic compartment syndrome. I've always been active and play very competitive soccer and basketball. I was hoping to play soccer into university. From the sounds of it, everyone says recovery lasts a long time.. So I ask, is it better to get the surgery ASAP or to wait a bit? My legs are in intense pain. However, basketball finishes in about mid-February so should I wait for that then get it or go in now? I'm sort of giving up hope of playing soccer in university which makes me very sad and I mean even if I have a lot of pain, I would still like to play for the last time of my life. There isn't really a league after university. Any advice is very much appreciated :) Thank you!

What is the difference between a fasciotomy and a fascietomy?

Hi! I too am military and am going to have my surgery in about two months. How long were you out for from work? How long before they have you take a PT test again? Im curious your recovery wiht the military. Do you fear a discharge?

Hi there..

I had fasciotomy in last october.. lost my muscle and not able to raise my foot due to the decaying of nervous system..but i can put the pressure down on my foot.. I am using a splint to make smooth walking [actually its not] ..  Anyone knows what i can do next..and whats the possibility of getting it back to normal..I know its gona take many years..but bit keen to know about any further treatments..

 

Aswin 

 

I had an emergency fasciotomy 4 years ago after having a blood clot in my femoral and popeteal arteries.  I did not have a choice in the surgery.  It was have it done then or have my leg amputated the next day.  I did not walk at all for over a moNth.  My incisions were open for 3.5 weeks. It took 3 months before i could walk without a walker.  I have lost range of motion in my foot, ankle and knee as a result.  I have not regained muscle mass in my hamstring, and my calf and foot swell constsntly.  I cannot run.  I would never voluntarily have this done.  I am young, but most days I feel like a cripple.  

Has anyone tried Massage as part of their treatment either pre or post fasciotomy?

 

I am a student of therapeutic massage and I am doing a case study on a client who has had bilateral anterior compartment syndrome. Although he did have his surgery 5 years ago he was still having tightness in the area and in the posterior leg as well. The massages helped considerable and he is now completely pain and symptom free in only 4 sessions in 6 weeks, throughout the 6 weeks he increased training and activities without the worry. This is just one persons experience and I was in consultation with his medical professional prior to treatment to ensure safety. The main technique I found effective was myofascial release (this can be painful and feel like it is stretching the skin). I would recommend anyone who is interested in this type of treatment to discuss this with their medical professional and find a massage therapist who is qualified in a treatment/sports type massage (not the spa type) and make sure they are in discussion with your medical team prior to any massage treatment to ensure they completely understand your condition. Please note there has been little research pre or post surgery for massage and compartment syndrome, but this is one area I hope to research more in the future. 

I had surgery just like his just about 2 months ago. I go back to the dr today becuase i am in the same exact pain as I was before. sucks.

Hey I am military too and my civilian doc gave me 6 weeks. I dont know if the military doc will give the same thing though. PT test will be deemed on your recovery. I bet they will have tou do everything other than aerobic potion though. Discharge? no scared about that unless it comes back and i cant do any part of the test. As for me, i had all 4 compartments on both legs and pain has returned. im actually going back to doc in about 30 min ;-/

Hi I had a fasciotomy in December. I was wondering if anyone who also has had the surgery has dealt with extreme sensitivity after the surgery? I can not rub the side of my leg without feeling pain. I was informed that I have some nerve damage but I also get sudden sharp pains that feel as though someone is stabbing me in the leg or foot. I was wondering if anyone had any similar symptoms follow the procedure and if so if they did anything for this ?

Hi!I had popliteal artery entrapment, were they cut out muscle to release my arteries and veins, last Sept. My surgeon released my superficial and deep compartments during PAES surgery and released my lateral and anterior this past March. I am still having problems. I feel like I did before surgery "shin splint" feeling. Pains with everything- walking, step (are hard), and biking. I just came from his office today. He said once it's released its released. Did they confirm second time with pressure test? Recover for compartments was nothing compared to PAES. I guess from reading these posts that it doesn't always work the first time?

I had surgery releasing all 4 compartments in both legs May 2013. I waited many months before I began running again and I had the same shin splint pain in my left leg as I've alwasy had. So I went back to my doctor and he ran tests, mri, bone scan...He could not find anything wrong with my leg. So he sent me to another doctor in his practice. The 2nd dr did surgery in my left leg with the exectation of just opening me up and removing scar tissue. Well, he did that too but he found that my deep compartment and another compartment had scar tissue over where it was originally released, causing no where for the built up pressure to be released. So, he reopened/cut each of the two compartments that were scar tissued over. It sucks for me b/c of the medical bills and not being able to work out. I hope this answers many of your questions. Summary; just because a doctor cut/releases your compartments, does not mean that it cannnot be covered in scar tissue, which will give you the same problems as before they were released/cut open.

Hi everyone. I have had the syndrom for about 20 years now. It started around the age of 12, when I was doing a lot of sport, and also walking quite a lot. It got real bad around 18 years old. By then I'd run and play rugby for about 12 or 15 hours a week. I was operated at once on 6 compartments, 3 on each leg. I recovered pretty well from the operation, and I am certain the surgeon is the cream of his business. But about 4 months after the operation the pain came back. And I don't mean to sound scary, but from that point on it just went increasingly painful on both legs, with tension in the feet, and burning sensations all along each calf. In my experience, the biggest obstable was the reluctance of every medical staff I met to handle the level of pain adequately. For a while I was on valium, because it has some strong relaxing effect on muscles. But it is so desocialising I wouldn;t use it as a torture mean. Then I had regular periods of heavy Ibuprofen abuse for a few years. But I must stress that one of the reason why the pain never stopped is that I never stopped living and doing stuff, although I haven't run more than 50 meters at once in 20 years. I am over graduate and still going forward. Pretty soon after I started university, I also became a regular user of a certain plant that is not strictly legal where I reside, and luckily it still didn't stop me doing my things. Now I found a better way to use it, in an alimentary form. It kills the pain, allows the body to sleep and relax well, and I am told it increases dopamine... Sorry guys, but I haven't come across anything more efficient to improve my health. When I was 20 or so, a doctor told me he couldn't put me on morphine, cause it's addictive. 12 years later, I have several addiction due to my chronic pains, including gelly gums, cigarettes, reading, and drumming. Frankly, I am have no idea if I any doctor will find a way to fix the syndrom in a satisfying manner, and I don't count on it anymore. So I am glad to read stories about successful operations, and in any case, the best way is to manage one's physical activity to not overload the legs. But if someone reads this that have experienced chronic compartment syndrom following surgery and proper medical attention, then all I can say it this: do not EVER overestimate your ability to sustain pain. Relieve it, but in the first place do not CAUSE it. On the long run, you would only make your state worse, and your pains bigger. I have done it, and today I have my calf is bigger than Lance Armstrong's. And I learnt this lesson: pain ALWAYS wins. So do not tempt it. Somehow pain is the only real issue. But as soon as you manage it, the whole syndrome is quite manageable, and really, there is nothing I can't physically afford in my everyday life. I just regret that I wasn't advised enough to seek control of pain and physical activity at once 10 years ago.

remember you can only ice up to 20 mins on the do 20 mins off then do ice again for 20 mins and contiounsly. you can cause nerve damage by leaving it on too long.