Week whatever
It’s been a while since Ive written an entry. At first things were proceeding along fine and I didn’t have anything interesting to say. Then a couple of weeks ago, I was walking. In Home Depot at a normal pace, when I felt a slight pull/tear in my good foot. I went back to my surgeon and she ordered an MRI. That took a couple of weeks because of Insurance issues so I finally had it yesterday. Today my doctor asked me to come right in. She said the report said I had a lot of scar tissue and a tear and she was concerned about letting it go to a full tear (I had extensive repair on the first one because my original doctor misdiagnosed it). She felt it and said it was less swollen than last time. I (stupid me) said, “yeah, Ive even been able to do a heel raise” and she said “oh, lets see”. Big mistake.
Now, I’m sure it would have happened eventually but I got off the exam table, bent the knee on my repaired leg and went to stand on my toes when “Boom, POP” the loudest pop. And surgery for my good foot scheduled for next Friday.
I’m not a cryer but I’m sooooooo depressed. I had/have a trip to Florida planned for this Sunday. (She said I could go if I wear the boot but I don’t know) and My dream trip to San Francisco and Napa Valley was planned for March 16th. Seems unlikely that I’ll be able to make it. 
Lisa, I’m very sorry to hear about this. Now did I read this right? You now may need surgery on both legs? What’s your next step? I wish I could give you some good advice, but I will offer my thoughts and prayers. Good luck and keep us posted.
Comment by kkirk — February 21, 2013 @ 10:26 pm
Hi Kirk. No, I *only* need surgery on the foot which was not operated on. The one that was operated on in November is doing great except I had stopped PT while waiting for the MRI. Surgery is scheduled for next Friday. Well, at least my feet will match! Thank you for the good wishes. Even though I haven’t posted Ive been keeping up with everyone’s progress. Hope all is well!
Comment by Lisa — February 21, 2013 @ 10:57 pm
Oh I guess I read your post wrong, but still that is a lot to take in. Things are going well, but slow for the time being. Good luck with your surgery.
Comment by kkirk — February 21, 2013 @ 11:01 pm
So the AT popped on your “good” leg, 15 weeks after the other AT was repaired? Ouch! I guess you’re committed to getting matching scars, rather than joining me in the “A-B test”, “1-AT-op, 1-AT-non-op” club?
Comment by normofthenorth — February 21, 2013 @ 11:40 pm
That about sums it up, Norm. If there was such a thing as Karma I would say it was because I told my doctor at my last post op visit that my repaired leg actually felt better and had more flexation than the good one. Of course that’s probably significant in hindsight. I was prepared to follow in your footsteps and push for non-op prior to messing it up more in my visit but we can feel a huge gap and the first time the end of my tendon had rolled all the way up my calf.
Comment by Lisa — February 22, 2013 @ 12:14 am
Wow, tough “break” Lisa. I know how it feels to have travel plans interrupted by this injury. My surgeon told me that I have a 10-20% chance of rupturing my good achilles, which has got me very paranoid now, I’m not getting any younger but still want to get back to a bit of sport. I’m making good progress with my recovery but will take a cautious approach in lieu of your situation. Good luck with the surgery.
Comment by downunderandy — February 22, 2013 @ 6:09 am
The big question is whether I should have two recovery timeline widgets. (Just kidding, maybe)
Comment by Lisa — February 22, 2013 @ 2:41 pm
The folks who did the UWO study also did the only study I’ve ever seen that tested the logical assumption that larger gaps heal worse without surgery, and need to be drawn together and stitched. They searched through all the non-op patients in the UWO study that had pre-treatment UltraSounds that measured the gap in their ATRs. Of the ~75 non-op patients in the study, 25 had those Ultrasound measurements. Then they analyzed their clinical results (2 years later, IIRC) to see if they were correlated with their pre-treatment ATR gap size. They found that there was no correlation(!). (Sometimes I think that ATR evidence might sour me on logic altogether!!) They also looked for a correlation with gap LOCATION (high, middle, low), and also found none. That is the ONLY study I’ve ever seen testing that assumption, and it’s a pretty small sample and not a very well-known publication.
Some pre-surgery surgeons treat high ATRs non-operatively, but it’s because they dislike the surgery (and its results) with them, not because non-op works especially well with them.
Comment by normofthenorth — February 23, 2013 @ 4:46 am
Oops! Some PRO-surgery surgeons. . . (not PRE-surgery!). If you can turn on your (”AJAX”?) Editing in your settings/options, we’ll be able to fix our typos. . .
Comment by normofthenorth — February 23, 2013 @ 4:47 am
Yup, I can’t find any real good data but my doctor is a podiatrist and isn’t usually gung-ho on any surgery. She just said, “let’s not screw around this time” plus there were a couple of other issues noted on the MRI that I think she wanted to be able to get in and look at. Anyway, I’m dreading it all but hope my recovery follows a similar path. Having this happen makes it more apparent how weak my already operated upon leg is. I keep tipping over if I’m standing still.
Comment by Lisa — February 23, 2013 @ 2:49 pm
Lisa, yikes, I am really sorry to hear this. I am sure the strength and knowledge you have gained during your first ATR will help support you through the latest rupture. Best wishes and good luck with your surgery.
Comment by alton2012uk — February 24, 2013 @ 11:32 am