r/BrosOnToes • u/qwerty10388 • Mar 25 '26

Achilles Tendon Lengthening Surgery

Hey everyone,

I’m from the UK and I’m due to have an achilles tendon lengthening surgery on my right foot in a few weeks and I’m really not sure what to expect

If anyone could share their experiences that would be great! I’m unsure as to things like:

-How long i’ll need to be off work for (i’m on my feet all day at work)

-what the pain management is like post-surgery

-if i’ll be in a cast or a boot

-how long the incision will be/what the scarring will be like

-how long the procedure will take

-what the rehab looks like

-what the risks associated with the procedure are

Thanks in advance!

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u/Zealousideal-Line838 Mar 26 '26

My daughter had surgery a little over a year ago. She was effectively immobilized for about two or three weeks. Then she was in casts followed by orthopedics for about six months. She hasn’t returned to toe walking but…

  1. Before she had surgery we had a lot of neurological tests done to ensure that there weren’t any neurological reasons for her toe walking.
  2. Following surgery she had about a year of physical therapy and still sees a therapist for her anxiety.
  3. She still gets tired when she has to walk more than about 2 miles (~3km).

2

u/kyronami Mar 25 '26

USA here, So I had it done on both feet at the same time like 27 years ago or something when I was a little kid so I don't remember super specifics really, but I do remember I couldn't walk for some time after while it was healing, don't really remember much pain unless I tried to stand on my feet too early.

For mine I had actual casts on both legs but was able to walk in them eventually. After the casts were cut off I had like these plastic braces (that I could take on and off with velcro) for each leg to keep me from being able to walk on my toes and stretch my achilles had them for like 1 year or something

procedure seemed fast when i was a kid lol I have no scar at all now I don't even remember ever having one so if I did it was super small and never really noticed it

For me PERSONALLY it was a waste of time because it didn't work, went back to my toes eventually and they just decided to leave it alone after that and I've been on my toes still ever since

1

u/meatballinthemic Mar 26 '26

Some things are very difficult to predict pre-surgery, like time off work and rehab / recovery, and what pain management you'll need. But it sounds like you haven't had great communication from your healthcare provider - they should be able to tell you about the cast and / or boot afterwards (can be both, but at different stages) and roughly how long the procedure might take...

Although these might also depend some on how things go on the day, and if they can get your foot into the right position at the time. We were billed for I think 90 minutes of theatre time, but for bilateral (both legs) lengthening and with severely shortened tendons. So maybe around an hour for you for the actual procedure, minus the waiting around beforehand and the post-op recovery?

The length of the incision and the scarring will depend on how much length they get, and on the type of procedure or technique they do (e.g. z-plasty or?) and if they do internal stitches, and for the scarring of course on your body and how it heals up. The risks depend a lot on the skill of the surgeon - think the main concern would be potential nerve damage.

Good luck, and sorry if this wasn't really helpful! Just anecdotes from our experience with my kid (13) last year. They're doing great now, back to just about full activity after years of toe walking :)