Ankle Two failed TAR

[ramone1961]

Hi all thanks so much for being here.
I had a total ankle replacement a week ago today.
I am in what they call a half boot cast and wrapped many times.
I had a nerve block in my leg and think maybe an epidural . I don't remember anything from the surgery. I was told no weight bearing for 2 weeks. I have been off all pain meds for 3 days now.
All seems good except for, I'm not sure if they are called phantom pains?
Many times through out the day I feel one of two things, in my mind that is. It feels like I can feel the Dr cutting into my ankle, or it feels like the wound is opening up, both the same feeling ??
Has anyone experienced anything like this ?
Also I'm a very active person going in to this, I drive a truck for a living and was wondering if i was out to lunch thinking i could be back to work in 2 months ?
Dr said plan for 3 off but maybe i would be back to work in 2.
Thanks all so much in advance for your help
Cheers
Ray

 

[Jamie]

Hi, Ray. Welcome to BoneSmart and congratulations on your new ankle. I know you're anxious to get your life back again, but please don't try to hurry your recovery. You need to allow your body time to heal. Long hours in a truck could be pretty rough on a new joint, so I'm thinking it might be best for you to plan for the full 3 months if at all possible. You want to do everything possible to ensure a successful recovery.

It is a bit odd to feel those specific phantom pains you describe. Is there actual pain that goes along with the feeling that the wound is opening? It may be that you need to adjust your pain medications to get some relief from that.

We have quite a few BoneSmarties in ankle recovery right now, so I suggest you do some reading in their threads to get an idea of what to expect.

Don't hesitate to ask any questions that come to mind. We're here to help and support you.

 

[ramone1961]

Hi all, thanks for being here.
I am 2 and a half weeks post opp total ankle replacement.
Things are going well, stitches were out at 2 weeks and put in walking cast.
My question is, is the walking cast more to protect my ankle than anything else ? In other words I seem to walk ok in my bare feet or slippers with a limp of course. But was wondering if this was bad for the ankle.? Thanks so much
Cheers
Ramone

 

[Jamie]

Yes, a walking cast is done when more protection is needed. Am I assuming correctly that you don't have a cast and are walking barefoot or with slippers now? If you're walking with a limp, you need to use a walking aid. I would recommend a walker as it gives you the best support until you are able to walk with no limping.

You'll notice that I've merged your latest thread with your original recovery thread. We prefer that you keep all your posts related to your recovery in a single thread so that we have all your information in one place. Often it's important for us to go back and review your earlier comments before giving you advice for a question or concern. It saves a lot of time not to have to hunt through multiple threads to do this.

So please post here. Let us know if you want a different thread title at any time and we'll get it changed for you.

 

[Larryr]

Hi Ramone,
Thanks for posting. I am 11 days post ankle replacement surgery and see my surgeon tomorrow in the hopes he removes my annoying hard cast, staples and puts me in a walking boot. I never experienced the issues you described but rather jolts of pain into my toes that last for only a second or two. I am assuming it’s nerve ends at my toes. Other than that I feel very good. I stopped all pain meds except for Tylenol a week ago.
So you are several weeks ahead of my experience, so it’s interesting to read your experiences and compare to mine.
Thanks for posting and continued good luck.

 

[ramone1961]

Hi all, i hope you are all healing well where ever you are at in your journey .
I am at 5 weeks tomorrow and it seems like my ankle is still very swollen .
Would you all say this is normal or should i maybe have it looked at. ?
I see the Dr next week so im close anyway.
Just wondering where you were all at , at the 5 week make after TAR.
I will add a pic if it helps
Thanks very much
Ramone

 

[marieltha]

Thanks for the update.

 

[Jaycey]

At only 5 weeks out swelling is very normal. Are you icing the ankle and elevating when you can? Always put a towel between your skin and the ice pack.

You will notice that I have merged your two threads together as we prefer that members in recovery only have one thread.

This is for three reasons:
1. if you keep starting new threads, you miss the posts others have left you in the old threads
2. it often ends up that information is unnecessarily repeated
3. it's best if we can keep all your recovery story in one place so it's easily accessed if we need to advise you.

Please keep all your questions and updates on this thread. If you would like a new thread title just give a shout.

 

[ramone1961]

Hi all ,thanks for being here.
I got my new ankle Sep 6 2019, so im just over 3 months .
Seen the Dr 2 weeks ago and he said all looked good. I told him it still causes alot of pain and swelling, he said it should settle down . I no i shound not assume, but i though by 3 months i would have been a little further along. I went back to work at 11 weeks. I still force myself to walk straight and not have a limp, but i still limp alot and by the end of the day it swollen . Always when i wake in the morning its gone down, not to wear my other ankle is but most of the swelling has gone by morning.
Any of you deal with this kind of thing, as you were recovering ?
Thanks so much
Ramone

 

[ramone1961]

Hi again, thanks so much for all the replies and your wisdom, Im not sure i could do this with out you all
Amen

 

[Jaycey]

@ramone1961 you will notice that I have once again merged your two threads together as we prefer that members in recovery only have one thread.

This is for three reasons:
1. if you keep starting new threads, you miss the posts others have left you in the old threads
2. it often ends up that information is unnecessarily repeated
3. it's best if we can keep all your recovery story in one place so it's easily accessed if we need to advise you.

Please keep all your questions and updates on this thread. If you would like a new thread title just give a shout.

Swelling at this stage is very normal. Keep icing and elevating if you can for at least 45-60 minutes several times per day.

 

[Larryr]

Hi all ,thanks for being here.
I got my new ankle Sep 6 2019, so im just over 3 months .
Seen the Dr 2 weeks ago and he said all looked good. I told him it still causes alot of pain and swelling, he said it should settle down . I no i shound not assume, but i though by 3 months i would have been a little further along. I went back to work at 11 weeks. I still force myself to walk straight and not have a limp, but i still limp alot and by the end of the day it swollen . Always when i wake in the morning its gone down, not to wear my other ankle is but most of the swelling has gone by morning.
Any of you deal with this kind of thing, as you were recovering ?
Thanks so much
Ramone

Hi Ramone,
Had my TAR three months ago and understand your frustration. I am also still experiencing pain and swelling as the day goes on and have to be conscious of limping. The slower I walk the less I limp. My surgeon told me Wednesday not to worry, you are doing great for three months and you will continue to improve, but expect pain and swelling for a couple of more months.
So hang in there, things will get better for all of us.

 

[Larryr]

Hi all ,thanks for being here.
I got my new ankle Sep 6 2019, so im just over 3 months .
Seen the Dr 2 weeks ago and he said all looked good. I told him it still causes alot of pain and swelling, he said it should settle down . I no i shound not assume, but i though by 3 months i would have been a little further along. I went back to work at 11 weeks. I still force myself to walk straight and not have a limp, but i still limp alot and by the end of the day it swollen . Always when i wake in the morning its gone down, not to wear my other ankle is but most of the swelling has gone by morning.
Any of you deal with this kind of thing, as you were recovering ?
Thanks so much
Ramone

Hi Ramone,
Had my TAR three months ago and understand your frustration. I am also still experiencing pain and swelling as the day goes on and have to be conscious of limping. The slower I walk the less I limp. My surgeon told me Wednesday not to worry, you are doing great for three months and you will continue to improve, but expect pain and swelling for a couple of more months.
So hang in there, things will get better for all of us.

Forgot one more thought: on some nights when my ankle has more swelling I ice it and the swelling comes down in less than an hour. You might want to think about that, rather than wait for the swelling to go down over night.

 

[ramone1961]

I keep being asked to keep all my posts together, and have no clue how to to that
TAR on right Sep 6 still swelling every day, and im getting fed up.
I see the doctor on Monday.
I seem to be Abel to walk for a while with no pain, but when ever I sit or jump in my truck and go to get up or out of my truck I can hardly walk on it, and it takes longer and longer to to come around .
In the last 2 weeks my left knee has become very stiff and painful, im sure due to over compensating for the right ankle.
Any questions I should ask the doctor on Monday ? Has anyone had this problem ?
Worst case scenario, can a fusion still be done after TAR ?
Thanks very much all, and if anyone can tell me how to find my old posts and keep them together that would be great
Hope you are all well
Cheers
Ramone

 

[Larryr]

Hi Ramone,
wow, I feel your pain as I too am loosing patience with my recovery. My issue is the pain I feel after sitting or laying down and then get up to start walking. The first four to six steps the pain is about a 7 or 8 level, but after those steps it reduces to a 2 . I talked to my surgeon about this because I am now at seven months post TAR and I did not expect this slow of a recovery. He told me it will take a year and you will not have any pain or swelling( I still get this each day).
The doctor also told me the pain is not from the Infinity device but rather the surrounding tendons and ligaments that stiffen up after sitting and when you get up they must loosen up first , thus causing the initial pain I feel. I believe him because it is exactly where I feel the pain, around the incision area and further around the outside of my ankle , and sometimes my Achilles as well.
Don‘t even think about a fusion, we have gone through the worst of our recovery and we just have to finish this even though I never thought it would take this long. I thought I would be playing golf two months ago , but I am still not ready.
if your painful stiffness is similar to my description above, please get back to us about what your doctor says.
Best regards, Larry

 

[Pumpkin]

@ramone1961 ,
Sorry you are having challenges finding your TAR thread. Here is a link to information about finding your threads and content.
How can I find my threads and posts?
You can also book mark your thread in your browser to make it easier to go directly to your thread.

I have merged your new thread with your original thread.

How far are you jumping to get into your truck?
I suspect your ankle is not ready for this type of activity.
If your ankle is stiff after sitting a few ankle pumps and/or circles may help get your ankle ready for activity.

A few questions to ask:
-Is my ankle and the way I walk contributing to my knee pain?
-Is getting in and out of my truck contributing to my pain? (measure the height, your OS will want to know how far you are jumping.)
-What can I do for my symptoms, pain, stiffness?

 

[ramone1961]

Hi all, well I got up Sunday morning and could not walk on my 9 month old new ankle
Went to hospital and they took blood and some fluid from my ankle, they think it might be infected or something is loose.
So I go back into the OR next Wedensday they will open it up remove everything take bone samples tissue samples and see if anything grows over two weeks with the culture , mean while they will fill the gap with antibitoc cement. Then I will go back in two weeks later and the Dr said we would decide on if we are going to do a T A R or a fusion. Let me tell you im leaning towards a fusion, I feel they are much more common and there's a better chance for success . And I guess im a little gun shy with the T A R .
Any thoughts friends
Cheers

 

[Jaycey]

@ramone1961 So sorry you are still struggling with your ankle. If you do any reading in our Ankle forum we have several happy customers who had good results after their TARs. You just stumble on some bad luck.

Please keep us updated!

 

[ramone1961]

Thanks for the reply, im wondering if anyone on here has had a TAR fail and a second surgery ?
And what was the second surgery, TAR or fusion ?
Thanks

PS. Will everyone see my last two posts ? Or can you put them in the right place for all to see , thanks

 

[Pumpkin]

@ramone1961
All your recent posts are in this thread.
I do not recall members who have had an ankle revision.
You are receiving a two stage revision, which is common in hip and knee infections. The implant is removed, a cement spacer placed, when the infection is gone, a new replacement is implanted (or in your case a fusion, depending on your decision).

Would you like your thread title edition to indicate a revision and/or possible infection to alert any other members that may have a similar situation?
Just post what you would like and a moderator will change your title.