Oct 27 2011
Second post op office visit - Sutures out!
It’s nearing my 3 weeks post op mark and everything seems to be moving along pretty nicely. I had my second post op office visit with my podiatrist on 10/24/11 to get my sutures taken out. Of course, before that could take place, I had to have my fiberglass cast taken out. For those of you who don’t know what to expect, my girlfriend took a video while the cast was being removed. Here’s the video.
It was completely pain free. The "blade" pretty much vibrates only enough to break apart the fiberglass. When the blade comes in contact with the skin, all you feel is a buzz. Anyways, as always, I enjoyed the few minutes my cast was take off.
My podiatrist the took a look at my wound and said everything was progressing as planned. The wound was free from any infection and was healing well. She plantar-flexed and dorsi-flexed my foot, did a quick Thompson test, and palpated around the incision. No pain!
So the doc said it was time to take the stitches out. She grabbed a pair of scissors and started snipping away. I have to admit, the wound looks way less grotesque with the stitches out.
Sutures out!
After the stitches were out, I asked the doctor a few questions. Per the recovery protocol, I would be in another fiberglass for another 2 weeks. This was a surprise to me as I had originally thought that my fiberglass cast would be on for a total of 4 weeks. I had my first cast put on a week before the 2nd post op visit. Apparently, the soft splint that I had during first post op week counted as one of the weeks. Which is AWESOME. I am ready to ditch this cast :P. Anyways, on 11/04/11, which will be my third post op visit, I will be placed in a walking boot, with PWB. I’m currently in my second fiberglass cast, with 15 degree dorsiflexion, so my foot is a little more parallel with the ground. I am also still NWB. PT will begin 2 weeks after I’m placed in a walking boot. Per the doc, I’ll be going once a week for 3 months, with home exercises to be done on a daily basis.
I’ve been pretty pleased with the recovery process thus far. It might just be me, but I definitely feel like my tendon is healing. My life has definitely began to feel more normal, especially since I returned to work just this past Tuesday. I’ve also been able to work out 5 days a week (3 days upper body, 3 days ab/core workout) doing a modified version of p90x, and eating healthy definitely has it’s benefits. And to be honest, crutching around alone seriously give your triceps an awesome workout :). If anyone is curious about my workout plan, just let me know. I can definitely PM it to you.
On a side note, I definitely recommend taking 1-3 weeks off after the surgery, if you can, that is. I know that some people will need to get back to work ASAP. But if you are able to take off, I say do it. I used that time to get accustomed to getting around in crutches and pretty much learning how to perform my activities of daily living while on one foot. It definitely helped me transition back to work.
One thing that I really am missing, and everyone who’s been around me for the past couple weeks has probably heard me say it over and over again, is that I REALLY REALLY MISS DRIVING!
Good luck to everyone and their recovery!
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