wow, it’s been a long time since i posted on here. i can’t believe i remembered my password!
well, i finally went back to work on may 24th. about 8 months after the initial rupture and 30 pounds heavier. i was a little rusty at first, but i got back into the swing of things fairly quick.
now the bad news…………………
i keep on having that recurring infection, even after the z-plasty. my plastic surgeon finally sent me to a infectious disease specialist who thinks the problem was i was never on antibiotics for longer then 2 weeks. he did say “any foreign body is at risk to be the foci of an infection”. he didn’t recommend IV antibiotics because oral cipro is just as good. just upped my dosage and is going to keep me on it for a few more weeks.
i’m really hoping they don’t have to open me back up again
so all of my stitches are finally out, and i’m off to the ortho tomorrow. just from hobbling around my apartment i’m getting muscle spasms in my calf, just looking forward to starting physical therapy again and getting back to a some what normal life.
my last visit with the plastic surgeon, which was the 11th of feb, he thought it would be better to keep the some of the stitches in for another 10 days. he took 1/2 of them out but left the ones in the middle of the Z in. still no drainage, and i’m back to hobbling around with one crutch. still can’t start therapy until all of the stitches are out, hopefully that will happen at my next visit on the 23rd. i’ve already scheduled an appointment with my ortho on the 25th so i can get back to PT.
so the stitches from the z-plasty are staying in for another week. the back of my leg looks like dr. frankenstein sewed it together. stitches will be in place for a month before i get them out, i’m just looking forward to starting therapy again and getting back on the road to recovery.
so i’m still nonweight bearing, at least until the stitches come out. he said it looked like it was healing fine…and that i had a nasty infection of something i couldn’t pronounce…during the z-plasty he cleaned it up and i’ll be on bacitrin for a least another 10 days, the wound area is much larger then before.. he said he needed to make it larger than normal in order to be able to use good skin…
gerryr…it’s not just one Z, its more of a zigzag, i have pics of after hard cast came off…before 2nd surgery with orthopedic…after 2nd surgery…and after z plasty…a little on the graphic side so i’ll spare everyone from posting it on here.
oh yeah it will be at least 3 to 4 weeks after surgery till the sutures are out
anyone going to the allman brothers march run this year?
so i had the z-plasty done this afternoon. it was a looonnnnnnnngggggg morning with no coffee, that was the worst part of the day. wasn’t as bad as i thought it was going to be, i’m just curious as to what it looks like now. at least that hole in the back of my leg is patched up and i can start looking forward to finishing physical therapy and getting back to being active!
here’s a little treat of gov’t mule from dec 30th i took at the beacon
so i saw the surgeon on monday, and he is going to send me to see a plastic surgeon about wound repair. i’ve been trying to put this off for as long as i can, but i guess the orthopedic knows best.
my scar is very low on the back of my calf, from about 1/2 inch above the bottom of my foot an up 4 inches from there. there is a small spot know that just won’t seal up. where the problem is the skin is right over the tendon, with nothing in between. the dr explained to me that tendons are always producing a lubricant, and that’s what is leaking out and preventing the skin to heal over it. ughhhh, i was hoping this wouldnt happen.
GerryR, how did you experience with your plastic surgeon go? just curious as to what i have in store for me. the earliest day i could get an appointment with the plastic surgeon is jan 7th.
other then that i’ve been doing better at therapy, and stretching 2x a day at home along with some theraband exercises. my limp is still there, but it’s getting better.
i’m hoping this thing will heal on its own by the time i see the plastic, but i don’t think that’s going to happen
so this morning at physical therapy, i was doing single calf raises.
everyone there, even some other patients, gave me a round of applause! i remember when i was hobbling into pt on two crutches barely able to even move my foot.
i’m still walking with a very bad limp, but it has been getting better. if i walk any more than two block my leg gets tired, and i can feel my achilles working overtime. i hope this eventually goes away with time
