Fulkerson Osteotomy, Medial Reefing and Lateral Release

[JessJess28]

Kneetrouble03- Good luck with your surgery! Don't worry now about bending your knee after surgery. I'm not sure if your Dr will give you a CPM machine (like MistyD asked about) or Rx early PT but they will help you bend when it's time. I was worried about my knee cap the first few days post-op especially the first time I could feel it under the swelling. It's kind of a weird feeling but try to relax and not over analyze every ache and pain. You'll do fine I'm sure! Keep us posted on your surgery.

MistyD- No CPM machine. I'm not sure if INS will cover one. I do have a recumbant bike and road bike with trainer for Triathlon training. I've read that some people use the bike and only pedal with the good leg and that helps ROM? I really want to get in the pool soon since my OS cleared me for that.

[JessJess28]

Post-Op Day 15 Not much change from yesterday but OW my poor ankle. I put an ace bandage on it to support it since it hurts so bad when I walk (with immobilizer on). My hubby gave me a leg massage last night. My whole lateral side of my leg really hurts. It's like you can draw a line from my ankle up to my thigh where the pain is. Not sure if that is from the lateral release or a nerve or what. The massage was awesome though.

I have a questions for any of you that have used Bio Oil. Did you put it on your scar while it had the scab on it or did you wait until the scab fell off? I've been cleared to swim, shower etc so I can get it wet.

[randomlife]

Hi! Sounds good that you're cleared for swimming! Hope your ankle starts to feel better soon. I had a lot of swelling down through the front of my ankle, but it cleared up and hasn't been a problem since a few weeks after surgery (last September).

I really liked using Bio Oil. I used it every time I did the cross friction massage on my scar. I didn't start to use it until all of the scabs were gone, but I don't know if it might cause any problems with the scabs or not.

Hope your recovery continues to move in a positive direction!

Cheers,
lk

[kneetrouble03]

Sorry for all the questions but I have one more haha

Has anyone been giving a time frame for how many months of physio are required after the surgery??

[JessJess28]

Randomlife- Thanks! OS office said a month or so with the swelling so hopefully in next week or two it's better. Thanks for the info on Bio Oil too. I was thinking best to wait until the scab is gone.

Kneetrouble03- I'm not sure how long physio/PT are required after this surgery. I know it can be up to 6mos for recovery. I think I have to go by my health ins because they may only pay for so much PT. I also want to do some of the exercises at home since it will be so expensive for me to go 3x per week.

[JessJess28]

Post-Op Day 16 Swelling is a lot better in my foot and ankle. Bruising is still gross in my foot, toes purplish-black.  Ankle still hurts really really bad. Tried wrapping it in an ace bandage yesterday, not too tight but supportive. I'm not sure if the ankle hurts so bad because maybe I'm walking funny from the immobilizer? I searched on here and found similar complaints after this surgery.

Tried to sleep with immobilizer off last night (ok'd by OS) but the medial side of my knee got some sharp pains if I slept on my side. I had medial reefing so I'm guessing it's from that. I ended up putting the immobilizer back on because I was afraid I'd hurt myself or get up without putting it back on. The other AM I had it on really loose and almost stood up like that. Oops! And with the kids I like to be able to get up quick at night if needed.

[JessJess28]

Post Op Day 18- Same old stuff here. Getting easier to shower on one leg. Ankle still hurts a lot. I have had some sharp shooting knee pains here and there. If I try to bend my knee (OS said ok when sitting) it feels kind of strange after a minute or two and then I get some medial pain and it feels kind of unstable. I'm not trying to bend it very often though. Don't want to hurt anything.

[JessJess28]

Post op Day 20 Not too much to report.. I forgot to tighten my immobilizer this AM when I got out of bed and stepped down. Ouch! Then I had some pains in my knee that seemed different. It seems ok now though.

[Mistyd]

Glad your progress seems to be steady    The hardest about surgery is probably the recovery. Mentally we think "it is all fixed!"  and yet, the healing has just begun, let alone the ROM, strengthening and sometimes relearning to walk correctly.

Keep up the great work!

God Bless,

Misty

[JessJess28]

Thanks Misty!

Just went to the playground with the kids for 45min. Getting around is so much easier now. Glad I can at least watch them play and walk around the playground now. They've been so good during this recovery so far.

[JessJess28]

Post Op Day 24- Most of the swelling and bruising is gone. I do have some in my knee and can't really see my knee cap yet. I can't wait to see how it tracks though. I went to work Saturday for about 4 hours. I didn't really elevate my leg so by the end I had some shooting pains but it wasn't too bad. I feel confident walking around in my immobilizer now too, not as slow, lol. I've been bending my knee some so it doesn't get too tight. I can get to maybe 70-80 degrees. Don't want to push it too much before I start physical therapy. My quad and knee feel tight so I'm sure that's why I can't bend it very much. Hoping to get in the pool soon too and see if that helps loosen my leg up. Everything seems pretty good here. No real complaints.

[JessJess28]

Post op day 26 Yesterday and today I'm noticing pain in my lower shin when I try to walk with my immobilizer. This is new to me. My immobilizer was getting too loose and I just figured out how to adjust it. Not sure if maybe that is why?

My husband has been giving me a leg massage almost every night. It feels so good and it almost seems to make my leg twitch and possibly help me fire my quad muscle. I hope it helps things heal a little quicker. My quad is getting pretty small from atrophy and I already have pretty skinny legs. I hope there is something left so I can drive in a few weeks when I go for my 6 week post-op appt. This not driving thing is not fun at all especially when one of the kids gets sick and we are stuck at home all day.

I can't wait for a good nights sleep either.

[kneetrouble03]

Hi Jess I hope you see this.

I am post op day 5 and the foot swelling and ankle swelling has started..

I see you had it too, were you given a reason for this?

How did you manage swelling?

[JessJess28]

Hey! So sorry you are dealing with the foot and ankle swelling too. Only cure I found was keeping it elevated and icing. If I did too much with the kids or too much cleaning, cooking etc it would swell. Take it easy!

[kneetrouble03]

Thanks for reply

It's not majorly swollen but you can see it starting to get almost purple and the toes are swelling and it gets very cold at night time.  It's not really bothering me but it makes it harder to do the movement exercises of foot to help blood circulation!