I had an Achilles debridement and haglund’s deformity removal surgery.
A friend suggested that I write this in case anyone else might be going through this type of surgery and might be able to find help or encouragement from what I went through.
4/17 surgery. I got the popliteal nerve block pre-op. It lasted 36 hours. Heavenly.
The next 5 days I was in pain, taking pain pills around the clock with the prescribed Tylenol, aleve, and baby aspirin twice a day. I used a wedge pillow for elevation and ice around the clock. I was non weight bearing (NWB) and in bed 23 hours a day.
Week 1- I only took a couple of pain pills a day and the severe pain was finally easing up . I was still NWB and in bed 23 hours a day.
Week 2 -was more dull pain and achiness. I was having times when I’d get sharp incisional pain but the surgeon said it was from nerve endings reconnecting.
He’d told me feet are not very vascular. Not great blood flow but LOTS of nerves. So it’s quite painful.
On day 17 I left the house for the first time. I had to use crutches to get down the steps at the house and then used the knee scooter. We went to eat. I was exhausted when I got home but it felt good to be dressed and upright.
I went for my first post op visit at 2 and a half weeks and he took the cast off. The staples he said didn’t look great but not unexpected. There was black scabbing along the staples and lots of bruising. He put me in an Achilles boot with 3 heel lifts and return in 10 days to have staples removed.
I went home and was miserable in the boot. It was so awkward with the 3 inch heel lifts and the staples were pulling and rubbing on the boot plus the weight of the boot was pressing against the staples when I used the knee scooter. For the first 3 days in the boot, I was taking pain meds around the clock again.
I went back to have the boot checked to see if it was too big and essentially begged to put a cast back on till I could get the staples out. He said let’s just take the staples out. He assured me it was better than 4 days ago.
Having the staples removed was not the highlight of my day. It was painful. He was not wrong about having lots of nerve endings in your feet. I was glad when he was finally done. He gave me gabapentin which is for nerve pain. He left me in the boot and said I could put a little weight on it as I tolerated the pain for transfers to the scooter.
I came home and scootered to the bathroom and tried to take a couple steps holding onto the walker. It was awful. Not that painful but like my leg had completely forgotten how to walk. I guess 3 weeks of non weight bearing did a number on me. He said I can manually wiggle my toes and move my ankle. That’s all the PT I get for now. He said don’t worry the hard stuff is coming soon enough. To enjoy this down time.
Week 3- I’m getting up and down easier now that I can put some weight on my leg now. It’s still awkward. My foot feels weird. The boot with heel lifts feels weird. It’s just odd. I’m able to move my toes much better. My ankle is still very stiff but he wrapped my leg in bandage and ace wrap because of the scabs on the incision. I’ve read not to push yourself or you’ll pay for it later so I’m just doing as the doctor said. I did sit up in a recliner for 4 hours today with my feet up. It felt good to sit up. I’m sick of laying in bed staring at these 4 walls.
I bought crossword puzzles and search a word books. I also bought a coloring book and markers and a couple of Crosstitch things to do and even a diamond art kit but you can’t really do that laying down in the bed with your leg elevated above your heart. Maybe I will get to do some of that now that I am able to set up for a period of time I need to write some thank you notes to the people who have brought food and sent DoorDash gift cards.
Week 4- I’ve had some better days. Not as much pain as much as nagging. I still have bandages on the incisions since they were still scabbed over, so the tape, Coban and ace wraps are annoying me. At this point I can wiggle my toes well but I struggle moving my ankle. I can pull it up to maybe 90 degrees but not sure if that’s because of the dressing or the joint.
I’m able to bear weight to transfer so that’s so much easier.
I cooked supper 2 days ago. By that I put together chicken pot pie, but it took all afternoon taking breaks between melting butter, pulling meat off a rotisserie chicken, opening cans, mixing together biscuit mix all while sitting down. I had to time it where Dwayne could get it out of the oven. I could not imagine balancing me and the oven door and a hot casserole. But it was yummy and I felt accomplished. Having no energy and no stamina is tough.
Looking at my surgical leg is so crazy. My thigh and calf are so wrinkly and smaller than my other leg. Muscle atrophy is a real thing. It’s crazy how fast it happens.
I am super grateful the pain is better
I bought a little desk thing that I can use in the recliner. I wrote thank you notes today. It feels good to be productive. Hopefully this week I’ll color some. Keep my mind busy and help pass the time.
I was able to take a heel lift out, so now I have 2 in. Heel lifts in.
Week 5- I went to the doctor completely expecting to get to do away with the scooter, but the incision is still open about an inch down at my heel and oozing dark drainage. He said it’s a hard place to heal because there’s no “meat” down there, it’s literally tendon and skin. He’s going to try silver nitrate dressings and keep it dry 3 more weeks, continue non weight bearing using the knee scooter and hopefully start with PT once it’s healed. At this point all I can do is wiggle my toes. I was sad and frustrated. It just puts my recovery behind and I’m tired of being like this. I’m praying that in the end it will be all worth it when I’m not in daily pain like before.
A few days after seeing the surgeon and doing more frequent dressing changes with the silver alginate dressings, I took the dressing off and there was a lot of yellow thick discharge so I took a picture of it and sent it to the surgeon who ordered antibiotics just to be safe and is sending me to Wound Care
Week 6- I started going to the Wound Care clinic and she did a debridement at the bedside. I highly recommend lidocaine gel for sure and I will do twice a day dressing changes to keep it super dry. Still non-weightbearing, still can’t get it wet.
Week 7-
I went back a week later, and she decided to put a wound vacuum on the surgical incision that is opened. It is only about the size of my fingernail, but being that it has been so many weeks it is considered to be chronic. The wound vac itself is not all that painful. It’s just in a bad place on the back of my heel with the boot and I have to continue nonweightbearing And can’t get it wet yet. My skin is so very dry. It just drinks up any lotion.
Week 8- we had tickets to go to the Memphis Quartet show and stay at the Sheraton downtown, but I still have no energy so Dwayne went Wednesday night and Thursday night and we gave away our matinee tickets and after work Friday he came and picked me up and we went to the hotel. I was able to rent an electric scooter like a wheelchair scooter for going back-and-forth from the hotel to the concert hall. It was nice to feel normal.
I was having trouble with the battery lasting on this wound VAC and so that was annoying, but it was nice to get out of the house.
Week 9-I went to the orthopedic surgeon on Monday and he walked in the door and just hung his head down and said I’m so sorry this happens sometimes. It made me feel bad for him. He said
I would start formal physical therapy at week 12 if the wound was completely healed, but that I could walk in the boot at home as tolerated
I went back to Wound Care on Monday and they replaced the wound VAC machine all together. They said they’d just get me a new one and send that broken one back to the company. The wound care doctor was not in agreement as far as walking with the wound VAC on; she said that it would heal faster if I would continue to do nonweightbearing with the scooter and just use toe touches for transfers so I guess in order to heal faster that is what I will do.
I went to see Amanda Best my PCP on Wednesday of this week for my annual physical and she is going to run an A1c just to make sure my blood sugar is OK and that that is not an issue with healing this wound.
Week 9- and I am laying here waiting on the home health agency to come, my wound VAC is supposed to be changed Mondays and Thursdays and for two weeks they have planned for them to be here today. It is 1 PM and I have not heard anything from the doctors office or the home health agency. I’ve called and left messages at both places.
I will say that I am just super antsy very nervous can’t get fixed not so much in pain just achy all over because I just lay down or sitting in the recliner all the time I have tried to do some of my puzzle books or coloring or crosswords or even yesterday I tried to do the counted cross stitch and I just don’t have the attention span of a gnat, it’s ridiculous.
Week 10 - well the wound vac will suction for a couple of days then alarm quite annoyingly that there’s a leak. Ugh. It’s awful. I hate it.
Today they took it off for the weekend since my skin from the wound vac adhesive is really red. She said it needed a breather.
I’m dressing it twice a day but can FINALLY GET IT WET!!! I took a full shower using a shower chair and it felt so good. I had to pat dry my incision area with a microfiber towel and dry with a hair dryer on low cool air settings before re-applying the dressing
I can tell you I have watched the clocked and wished time away for over 10 weeks. I hate this part so much.
Week 11- I HATE THE SOUND OF VELCRO!!!!!
I’m SICK OF THE BOOT!!!!
Went to Wound Care doctor today and she officially DC’d the wound VAC. She said it is just too small and would continue to leak and could possibly cause damage to the wound bed because it is so small. She is on vacation next week so I go back to the orthopedic surgeon next week and then back to Wound Care the following week. She said it looks better and that I could continue to shower and just very minimal steps with transfers and to stay on the knee scooter essentially nonweightbearing for now until the incision completely closes shut. she said I would be very disappointed if it popped back open at this point.
Week 12- saw ortho. He said I could walk in the boot in the house and still use the scooter out and about.
Week 13- ortho had me start writing the alphabet in the air using my surgical foot. I’m also to pick up marbles with my toes. I got a towel and small bowl and I can tell you it’s hard picking up those marbles!!!!
Week 14- there’s a tiny scab on my leg, but wound care OK’d me to go to PT. The following day I went to orthopedic surgeon. He DC’d the scooter, I can transition into regular shoes or sandals and I start PT tomorrow.
I went to PT today, they did some minimal stretching exercises and gentle massage that I’m to repeat 3-4 times a day. They said I’m really in the middle of the protocol….not quite at the beginning but not at the 14 week mark.
Week 19- I have been going to PT 3x a week for 6 weeks. I finally got released from wound care and the orthopedic surgeon said I can go back to work in 2 weeks. I still limp when I get tired and it gets sore after PT but I elevate and ice it. I’ve been walking around the block some and joined the YMCA so I can do water aerobics. It’s amazing I can do heel lifts on my surgical leg in the water, maybe one day I’ll be able to do it on dry land. I still get tired really easy, just no stamina, but it’s been a long summer sitting on my tail end watching my leg heal.
Week 20- not how I planned to spend my last week off work but I have Covid. I’ll have to miss PT this week and hopefully just rest up before going back to work on Monday.
If you’ve read this far, you are either family who loves me or you found this blog through a search of this type of surgery. I hope you found something helpful along the way. Best wishes on your journey.
