Another Surgery In My Future?

Met with Dr. Chang again this morning. We took new x-rays and he says the bones have healed up nicely. I completed 12 sessions of physical therapy and can almost walk (slowly) without a limp. Though I feel my ankle and maybe calf muscles are giving me more problems than where the breaks were. There is soreness and mild pain when I walk. Kneeling is still a bit awkward with slight pain but more uncomfortable is a weird feeling in the knee. I think I feel the screws. Down below closer to my ankle is one screw holding the rod into place down there. This I can feel when rubbing my fingertip over the incision area.

As for his earlier concern and preliminary diagnosis as to my knee, I’m much stronger but the possibility that some of these problems could be attributed to a torn ACL still lingers.

Of course, I relayed all this to Dr. Chang and asked him what was involved in pulling out the hardware. He pulled on my leg, and did a few tests and still thinks that I have a torn ACL. So the question is do we pull the hardware out and while in surgery scope the knee and if there are problems fix it while I’m lying on the table. A good idea he says. “But Allan, I have to be honest with you, I’m not really an ACL guy,” he looked at me, “and I think you do have an ACL problem.” I scratched my head and wondered what to do. “Any surgeon can pull the hardware out, Allan. I’d like to do it but if you’re looking to do your ACL at the same time, I will refer you to someone who specializes in this type of work.” Fair enough. I like his attitude and he’s earned my trust over the last four months.

“But you should get an ACL brace nonetheless,” he continued. “If you do surgery, you’ll need the brace post surgery. If you decide to wait on surgery for the ACL, the brace will stabilize your leg.” So I’m set for a fitting for a custom ACL brace. And I’ll visit the ACL specialist OS on June 13. More to report then.

Meanwhile, I’m picking up doing long walks and trying to get my ankle in shape, hoping that just getting it moving and up and about for longer distances will help strengthen it and over time ease the pain. I’m thinking I should join a gym to continue gaining overall muscle strength back.