Oct 05 2010
One year and counting
It was over one year ago that I got my ATR and surgery. It’s hard to believe how much has transpired over the past one year and also how fast time has passed. I remember been cooped up at home after the surgery and watching the leaves turn color and fall to the ground … and that’s what I see out the window right now. Overall, it was a challenging year, but all-in-all I have grown quite a bit over the time and understand that He has his purpose in it all.
I went to visit the doctor 2 weeks back for my 1 year check up. I walked around, and did some leg lifts. We mostly chatted and the doctor said that I could do any exercise that I felt comfortable with. He said that probably my body’s healing style probably produces more scar tissue, so the area around the tendon will slowly thinnen over time. Doctor reminded me that the strand he used to tie the tendons was still in my body and that I would need surgery if I really wanted it out — obviously, I wouldn’t want to do surgery just to take it out.
4 responses so far
eschao, why did you mention the stuff in your last 2 sentences, about your sutures, and needing surgery if you wanted them out? Do you think they’re causing harm now? Did your Doc mention them as part of the reason your AT is thicker than it used to be?
I had surgery after my first ATR (late 2001), and I’ve never given those internal sutures a second thought, so I’m puzzled.
I’m at one year and a week.
My Dr. has never mentioned the internal sutures. I always thought they would dissolve by themselves?
My internal sutures were causing me quite a bit of trouble. If you can not feel them right now then there shouldn’t be any reason to have them out. My sutures were made out of a material called ethibond. My doc told me (after they were removed) that he did not suggest I let anybody put ethibond in my body again anywhere and that they were making quite a scene in my Achilles. Now that they are out, I can tell you that the problems they were causing me were there right from the very beginning. It did not show up 9 or 12 months down the line. After Achilles rupture, it is hard to know what is causing each individual pain you experience. Once those suckers were removed, I knew exactly what was causing the problem there. On a side note: the surgery where the sutures were removed was actually to do other things. It was once the doc was in there that he saw the shenanigans they were causing. I am not sure I would ever chose surgery just to remove them unless I was forced for medical reasons. I am so happy they are not there anymore.
As I’ve mentioned a few times in my blog, the internal sutures used for repairing an ATR do NOT dissolve ever. As it was explained to me, there is only one type of dissolving suture and when used internally the stuff is completely dissolved in 2-3 weeks. For those doctors who believe the only cure for a ruptured Achilles is surgery, that is not nearly long enough. The most commonly used internal suture for this repair is called Fiberwire and is a multi stranded long chain polyethylene core with a polyester braided jacket. It is extremely difficult to work with and hard to cut even with the scissors doctors have. The stiffness of the stuff is why it is tied off with multiple knots creating a fairly large lump. If, as was reported here by someone whose name I don’t recall, a piece of this stuff gets “forgotten” inside, it will work it’s way to the surface and through the skin - a painful experience as he related it. I found numerous reports of people having allergic reactions to Fiberwire and the stuff certainly created a lot of problems for me. I elected to have surgery specifically to remove it because I had nearly constant pain directly over the knot and I had persistent drainage. It was the best decision I made throughout this long process of healing. Possibly the worst decision I made was agreeing to have a Z-plasty procedure and not insisting that the surgeon agree to remove whatever Fiberwire he found. If he had paid attention or I had been more insistent I would have been done with it in October 2009 instead of May 2010. For me there were no options available except to remove the stuff.