Your infor sharing is indeed very informative as I will be going through this operation soon, 14 March 13. I am quite worried now.

I wish you could share with me more information as of how long is does it take you to really recover from it with PT and etc. Doctor told me that he I will be hospitalised for around 3 days and will be put on removable cast for 2 weeks. He also mentioned that PT can start after the 3rd week and I can go back to normal activities by week 4. Judging from what I read from your messages, 4 weeks recovery seem quite unrealistic.

Wish to get some reply from you.

Thanks

Sue

Actually, my Achilles was cut and dettached, but it was minimal. I thought my procedure would be different, but apparently since the tendon wraps around the calcaneus you can’t get the bone with surgical instruments without removing some of the tendon. I was told by the doctor later that his goal was to attempt the surgery without Achilles involvement, but he was not going to “half-ass” the surgery due to not being able to reach the problem area. He made a judgment call to do it, and I concur with his decision since he has never had a patient not return to running in the 22 years he’s been doing the surgery. You are correct that I never injured my tendon before the surgery, so that may have something to do with the speedy recover, but like most operations of this nature my Achilles was cut and attached, albeit minimally. Just thought I’d clear that up.

@pauls

I would listen to your doctor and your body and do what he thinks is best. This surgery takes a long time to recover from and you can’t afford any mistakes. I was a bit aggressive with my recovery, but also very cautious. All it takes is one bad step in your first few weeks and you’re back at square one. You can use my recovery as a guide if you wish, but please be smart about it. I don’t want someone redamaging their surgery because they are trying to follow my recovery timescale.

You are correct, I did not have an Achilles rupture. I chose to do the surgery on an elective basis due to the crippling pain I endured when I tried to run.

I’m not completely sure why some do better than others. The only differences I can think are as follows:

I was a minimalist runner before my surgery. When you run in minimal footwear, your tendons and Achilles are used in a full range of motion the way they were designed to be used. Because of this, I think I retained a lot of my flexibility and “tendon endurance” over a normal patient.

I also adhere to a strict diet. I only eat fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, lean meats, and whole grains. Everything organic if possible. No sweets. No junk food. No dairy. I’ve been eating 3-5 egg whites every other day to promote healing (egg whites are a complete protein and contain all the amino acids essential for growth and repair).

I also workout 5 times a week on my fitness tower (upper body). I’m not sure if this helps or not since it’s not cardio, but it’s been keeping my upper body in stable condition. I plan to start swimming this week.

On the stitches, I had mine removed at 2 weeks along with my hard cast. The reason they leave that on there is because everything in that cast is completely sterile from the surgical operation. It lowers the chance of infection by encasing the wound from the elements.

I’m pretty sure my tendon was cut in order to get to the soft bone near the attachment point. My surgeon was a bit vague on the specifics after the operation, but I don’t believe my tendon was detached. Basically, he said the approach he used would have the quickest recovery and he would not violate the tendon if he didn’t have too. I’ll ask at my next appointment.

My son will take his time hopefully to recover, but he is anxious just doing nothing. It’s hard to go from running 10 or more miles a day to laying in bed with little movement. I hope that when he gets his stitches out on Friday, we hear the healing has begun. Is it weird that he is getting the stitches out after one week and not longer?