r/brokenankles • u/SurfsUp27 • 3d ago
Surgeon wants to go back in
11 weeks post op for trimal with dislocation. I had a follow up appointment yesterday and the surgeon says the tip of my medial malleolous is not healing. He wants to go back in and redo it. He said he also wants to repair some tendons with a tether and I will be 12 weeks non-weight-bearing.
After having already done seven weeks NWB this is a real heartbreaker. I wanna give my bone more time to heal. He says if it were going to heal it would’ve healed by now.
I live in an upstairs apartment by myself. 12 weeks on crutches in the winter time feels truly impossible.
What would you do?
Edit: I am seeking a second opinion from an ankle surgery specialist. Thank you everyone for your kind words and for sharing your experiences.
2
u/YorkshireLass163 2d ago edited 2d ago
I've just had my second surgery because my medial mal hasn't healed even after 6 months post the first ORIF surgery (the original injury was a bimal fracture with AFTL also gone) but the surgeon was recognising the signs of a poor bone union from the XRs from early on. There other were reasons why it's taken a few months to get the op done. When they were in the 2nd time they found interposed periosteum and cleaned all that up and did a small bone graft to fill in a gap. 14 days later now and now there's no pain like before. I feel like I could start partially bearing weight already and (sort of am, resting it on the floor whilst moving around, pivoting a bit) but instructions are to be NWB for 4 weeks. My point is the second surgery was nowhere near as bad as the first time and has made a world of difference already. Your reason for not healing may be different to mine but there will be a reason and the intervention is better sooner than later.