1st of two Haglunds Deformity Surgeries (Right Foot First)

Posted on January 21st, 2018 by tamitmada

Hi world. Hope you are doing well and wish you the best on your surgery and/or physical therapy.

I have Haglunds on both heels. I’m 41 (male) and decided it was time to take care of it. I’m a small 6′1″ 280 lb guy. Trying to do both feet in the same calendar year to make the most of my deductible and insurance. We’ll see if I can do it.

January 2nd, 2018 I had my first surgery on my right foot. After reading some of the blogs here, I see that some surgeries don’t fully detach the Achilles tendon to gain access to the back of the heel. I am unsure at this point how much was detached. I’ll find out from my doctor and let you know.

So more about the surgery: It resulted with 9 stitches up my leg near the back inside part of the heel/ankle/leg. The doctor also snipped part of my upper tendon on the inside part of the calf to relieve some tension on my Achilles by my heal. That resulted in 4 stitches and some additional soreness.

They put me in a cast/splint for 2 weeks. The first week I was on pain meds Tramadol and Norco. I slowly weened myself off of them because I know those are pretty volatile. My upper tendon surgery was throbbing and hurting more than my heel during the first couple of weeks. I also was taking 2 aspirin a day and ibuprofen and tylenol for inflammation and fevers. Strangely enough, I would get a low grade fever 2 or 3 times a day (along with the sweats) 101.7 F or so. I think the tramadol or norco caused it somehow.

I decided to take 2 weeks and 2 days off of work to give me time to keep my foot elevated. From reading from other blogs and from friends that had foot type surgeries, a key point I saw was to keep your foot elevated as much as possible to help with swelling and help positively to affect speed of recovery. After 2 weeks and 2 days, I had a post-op checkup and they removed my splint and then removed all my stitches. They put me in a walking boot but said I can but a VERY light weight bearing on it. Definitely not full weight bearing at this time. So I can stand and brush my teeth without sitting or using crutches. They put 3 wedges in my walking boot at my heel end. Doctor said I can pull 1 wedge out after 2 or 3 weeks. Then I can pull another wedge out the following week. I will have another post op appt in 4 weeks (3 weeks from tomorrow).

SIDE NOTE: I bought a pair of crutches at Goodwill for $1.75 and borrowed a knee scooter. Unfortunately my knee flared up and was more painful then my foot so have yet to use the scooter because my knee hurts too much. My knee is better but not good enough to put weight on it.

Honestly I’m completely off all pain meds and back to my 10mg Meloxicam to keep my other foot under control. I really have no pain in my right heel right now. I can take my walking off but have not trusted my sleeping habits to leave it off during the night while sleeping. I’m guessing there will be a bit of pain when I start trying to bend my ankle and/or put full weight bearing on it.

I’ll try and post some updates as I get more closer to my doc appt and any major changes. Probably rambled on too much here but if you have any questions or anything let me know. Hopefully something in this can encourage you through your surgery and recovery.

6 Comments »

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  • wsfost02 | February 9th, 2018 | 9:03 am

    I am dreading having my second one done. I am 17 weeks post op today. I am hoping to at least run 1 or 2 more half and push off the other foot until next year. But its my right foot that needs done now….

  • bamf | February 8th, 2018 | 8:00 pm

    I feel for you for having to have this done on both feet. One is enough! I am 16 weeks post op and it is still rough.

  • tamitmada | January 30th, 2018 | 11:03 am

    Thanks for the encouragement. I appreciate it. Just want to clarify my “Partial Weight Bearing” statement. I can’t put any real load on it but I can use it for balancing and standing while I pee or brush my teeth without crutches if that makes sense. Don’t want to give the idea that I am allowed to put much weight on it.

    Took my first wedge out yesterday. So went from 3 wedges down to 2 wedges. Hopefully next week will have only 1 wedge in.

    Lastly, on Sunday I had a minor slip in the slush and snow. I live in the upper midwest…lots of cold, ice and snow during the winter months. I coming out of the grocery store on crutches and was not being as careful as I should. One crutch slipped and I had to put a bit of weight on my right foot to catch myself from falling. No pain in my heel and I’m fairly confident I didn’t pull my calf due to the fit of the boot. What did happen however, is that I hurt the outside part of my right foot. Hurt pretty good that day/night to the point it was hard to curl my toes. Yesterday was a bit better and today seems back to normal.

  • wsfost02 | January 26th, 2018 | 5:05 pm

    Welcome to the club. I think I slept in my boot for almost 6-7 weeks. I know it sucks but you have to keep the foot at the angle to heel the AT. Odd your already weight bearing? I was 6 weeks COMPLETE NWB. I guess every doctor is different.

    Best of luck to you. I know this website has been a big blessing to me.

  • pjhalifax | January 24th, 2018 | 8:58 am

    Best of luck with the recovery! Seems like things must be progressing well if you’re able to do some limited weight bearing. Even light weight bearing is so much better than having to crutch around.

    I can’t remember when I stopped wearing the boot at night. I’m sure I could have earlier, but I’m such a twitchy sleeper that I was afraid I’d have some kind of calf spasm and hurt something. Probably completely ridiculous to think that but those were strange times. In the end I think I kept the boot on a few weeks longer more for the mental side (confidence) than the physical. Having my leg out of commission like that really messed with my head.

  • tamitmada | January 23rd, 2018 | 4:14 pm

    I just wanted to update:

    I did try sleeping without my walking boot. I got through the night but I didn’t sleep well because I think I was concerned of hurting something. Last night I put the boot back on when I slept. Better night sleep.

    My doctor did get back to me and my achilles tendon was fully removed off my heel and reattached. Here is official medical speak:

    “Achilles was completely debrided off of your posterior calcaneus, the bone spur was debrided and then your Achilles was subsequently re-anchored to his posterior calcaneus.”