Well, I got to see the doc for the first time today since just minutes before surgery and he told me that my recovery time might be a month or so quicker than the typical ATR. Wow - that’s cool, but why? Well, it turns out that I now have a titatium screw attaching my achilles tendon to my heel (calcaneus) bone. So, it turns out that I didn’t have your “standard” ATR, but rather I also had a partial avulsion of the calcaneus bone. So, my achilles tendon did tear, but when it did so, it pulled a piece of bone with it. Doc says it takes less time to heal a bone than it does a tendon and thus the 1 month or so potential bump in recovery time. Turns out the X-Ray had indicated there might be partial avursion, but the MRI ruled it out - only to be discovered when he opened up my heal.
Today I got my sutures out and I swapped out my splint for a boot. He also had me press down on my big toe and boy do I have a lot of range of motion to gain!
He also said that I could start doing some exercise, like doing some weight lifting, as lonnnnnnnnnnnngg as I put no weight on my left leg for another 4 weeks. I think I am going to hit the gym tomorrow and at least get some upper body weights in and maybe some leg extensions in for my right leg. I could really use some cardio, but that doesn’t look like it is going to be in the cards for a bit.
And he said that I should be back to snow skiing this winter, so now I got my goal in place.
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August 11th, 2011 at 5:18 pm
CJ.
I tore more AT about 3 weeks ago. I go in for my 2 week post up check up tomorrow morning. I was told the same thing about my tear; that it wasn’t a normal tear but more of the tendon becoming detached from the heal and pulling a piece of the heel bone with it. I have about 2 screws holding my tendon to the heel now too. Its hard to find somebody with the same type of ATR, so glad to know I’m not alone. I hope I hear the same type of good new about the recovery time as you did, because I’ve been hearing its like 6 to 9 months for a full recovery and that is just waaaay too long.
Let me know how your recovery goes.
August 11th, 2011 at 6:30 pm
daveb
Hi CJ,
It will be great to follow your progress too, as we basically have the same type of ATR and basically on the same timeframe. Let me know what the doc says tomorrow. I definitely went with a whole set of questions at my 2 week post-op and a lot were based on posts I have seen from this web site.
How did you do your ATR?
Take care,
Dave
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August 11th, 2011 at 6:48 pm
normofthenorth
There have been a few of those injuries among bloggers here in the time I’ve been hanging out (1.5 yrs!!), so a search might turn up their blogs and their experiences.
Dave, your case is fascinating in terms of diagnostic scanning for ATRs. Many of us were rushed off for X-rays, which are a waste of time and money and rad-dose in maybe 99% of all cases — and you’re in the 1%! I’ve been suspicious of Ultrasound results since I got 3 contradictory results from 3 US exams just after this ATR, and I’ve been suspicious of MRIs since my Dad got 3 dire and increasingly terrible (supposedly urgently life-threatening) results from consecutive-monthly MRIs of his spine, while his symptoms got progressively better, and never bothered him again until he died years later of unrelated causes.
I also had an online debate here (~1 yr ago) with somebody with a rare ATR complication like yours, who felt that all ATR patients should have MRI exams — so it’s interesting to me that the MRI missed yours.
Verrry Interrresting!!
C.J., there’s often a long time between “largely recovered” and “a full recovery”, and 6-9 months for a full recovery IS about a month or so faster than average — sorry about that!
August 11th, 2011 at 10:13 pm
daveb
I’ll add one more bit about the diagnostic scanning. When I originally went to the ER, the doctor there diagnosed the situation as an ATR and had me scheduled for an X-Ray. It was taken for ever to get me in to do the X-Ray, so she eventually came in and told me that it is highly unlikely that the X-Ray will show anything, so if I wanted, I could wait to do that when I saw my orthopedic surgeon. So, I left without x-rays. The X-ray and MRI happened at the orthopedic surgeon’s clinic.
Bummer to hear that 6-9 months is still the full recovery time.
I am going to do a search for the other folks who had an avursion too.
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August 15th, 2011 at 12:45 pm
normofthenorth
Avulsion.
August 15th, 2011 at 1:35 pm
daveb
Thanks - that returns the hits that I was expecting.
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August 16th, 2011 at 8:55 am
gooddayreview.com
I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas.
I’m frightened of the old ones.
John Cage (1912 - 1992)
August 17th, 2011 at 11:52 am
Calyxa
Congrats on the Dr. predicted healing time. I ruptured my a. in July and my Dr. says i’ll be snowboarding by end of Dec. tops. So i’ve got the same goal! Unfortunately i can’t figure out - for the life of me - how to start my own blog and i’m pretty tech savy.
August 17th, 2011 at 3:10 pm
daveb
Hi Caly,
It will be interesting when we get to the PT phase whether there will be something different we will have to do to prepare for snowboarding/skiing. I know one thing, when I look at my left leg, which has the ATR, my calf has atrophied to a point of jelly. So, it might take a bit for it to get back in shape.
To start your own blog, you can go here: http://achillesblog.com/wp-signup.php to get an account, which you probably already have, and then you need to send email to dennis to request your blog.
Hope that helps and happy healing,
Dave
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