Achilles Tendon Rupture Recovery

My second post-op appointment was today. The nurse took my cast off, and it felt great to let my leg breathe.
I knew that my calf muscle had been atrophying, but I was still surprised to see it so puny. The skin was loose around the muscle! So it looks like I have a lot of rehab ahead of me.

I saw the surgeon this time, and he cleared me to ditch the crutches and start walking in the CAM boot. When not walking, I can take the boot off and move the foot as much as I want. I can shower and finally wash the foot that hasn’t been washed in over a month.

I’ll be doing physical therapy at around 5 to 6 week mark. The scrip says:
“PT 2-3x week / 8 weeks,
ROM, Strengthening, modalities, evaluate & treat”

He said that I should do some exercises while I am home as well. I forgot to pickup the exercise guide, so I’ll have to get that tomorrow.

He also mentioned that from what he recalls, my surgery was fairly routine and there wasn’t any other damage. He trimmed off the damaged ends, put sutures on both ends and tied them together. In addition, he wraps more absorbing sutures around the reattached tendon for added support.

He does 3 to 4 achilles tendon surgeries a month, and that’s the bulk of the ATR surgeries at that particular hospital.

So the follow-up was fairly brief, with minimal examination as I didn’t complain of any pain or other complications. In fact, I don’t even think he laid eyes on my heel, which I think is bizarre come to think of it.
But who knows, maybe it’s all like that.

After the surgeon left, an orthodist (sp?) came in and fitted me with a boot. She showed me how to put on and take off the boot, along with some helpful tips like: When indoors, wear an indoor shoe on the other foot so that it feels more level.

Here is what the boot looks like:

I don’t see any model number on the boot, but looking at their website, I think it’s MaxTrax Air Walker made by DJ Ortho.  It looks like they also make the Aircasts. Not sure why they brand them under two different names though.  It has a single air pump in the front that inflates the air bladder in the padding for more support.

That sort of reminded me of Dee Brown when he won the Slam Dunk Championship.  He pumped up his Reebok Pumps before doing his “I can dunk without looking” dunk.  Well, I am not sure how that’s relevant.

I don’t feel comfortable walking in the boot yet, but it’s better than fumbling with crutches. I limp around, but it should get better as I get more and more comfortable with bearing weight on my left foot.

To all of you who have boots instead of casts, do you have an indoor boot and an outdoor boot?
Do you sleep with the boot on?
If you do, how do deal with tracking dirt onto the bed? Cleaning the sole is one option, but how clean can you really get them?

So I drove home, parked the car in the garage, took my crutches out and put them in a dark corner. Hopefully I’ll never need them ever.

(On second thought, at some point, I am planning to have an arthroscopic surgery on my right knee to repair my articular cartilage so I better not throw them away. And then I’ll be 100% healthy on the basketball court again!)

If you look carefully to the on the right sidebar of this page, you’ll see that there is a new “widget” called Achilles Timeline
This is a widget that I created that keeps track how long it has been since my ATR and how long it has been since my surgery.

You can also add this to your sidebar, and it’ll keep track of your dates as well.

To do this, after you login, if you go to: “Users” -> “Your Achilles Profile”, you can fill in the info. Make sure you click “Update Options” when done. (image showing a sample user):

Now all you have to do is “activate” the plugin that I’ve created: Achilles Info Display Widget:

In the widgets screen under “Presentation”, you can now see the widget called “ATR Timeline” and add it to any of the themes and any of its sidebars you want.
If you have any questions or you want me to do this for you on your behalf, please let me know.

I have more things planned, including the progress tracker. Also, any suggestions or feedback is greatly appreciated.

Don’t click on this link if you don’t want to see the surgery in action.
http://www.revver.com/video/119736/ruptured-achilles-surgery

I watched it, but I am not sure if that was wise. It’s a little disturbing.

Just a quick FYI.

I am currently working on a plugin application for AchillesBlog for monitoring your recovery progress.

You start with inputting your surgery date, particular recovery protocol that your doctor is following, and possibly other relevant dates (like Dr. appointments, physical therapy session dates).

The progress tracker will then create a time-line for you, where you can keep a log of your recovery/rehabilitation progress until you’ve made full recovery.

Why is this useful? The most common advice that I’ve been getting from people who are much further along in the recovery process is that I need to be patient and be dedicated to the rehabilitation process to be successful.

In addition, since full recovery can be anywhere from six months to a year, I think it’s beneficial to have some sort of measuring stick to keep me focused throughout the entire process.

Well, I’d appreciate some feedback on what would be helpful for the recovery process. Or if there happens to be some software out there that does this already, please let me know, as I have no intention of reinventing the wheel.

And no, I don’t hope to reinvent a spreadsheet application. So if I realize that a spreadsheet is sufficient, then I’ll just post a link to a spreadsheet.

I’ve been thinking about my first follow-up exam, and I am curious about other’s experiences.

What should the doctor be doing during the first exam? Of course, the doctor should check the incision wound to make sure that it’s not infected. Make sure that there isn’t excessive swelling, discoloration of the foot, and answer any questions/concerns.

Did your doctor try to move your foot? Feel around the tendon? Did the doctor perform any tests? Did he take the sutures out? Did the nurse take the sutures out? Did you even see a doctor? (I was only able to see the Physician’s Assistant and the checkup was very brief.)

I’d like to hear from you, and I’d like to compile a comprehensive list of things that a good doctor should be doing on your first follow-up exam.