Week 2 - First Post-Op Visit

It has been two weeks since I had my ankle operated on, well two weeks and one day to be exact.  I have been able to get up and move around more since the first week.  The only problems I have had involve taking a bath.  I have to wrap my leg in plastic and keep it out of the water.  Getting in and out of the tub takes some time and I have to be careful not to slip and hit my foot or injure myself.  It's not really a problem. It's more of an inconvenience. The pain has been managed with ice and elevation and has been minimal.  It still swells and hurts any time I don't have it elevated. Today (9/3) was the first time it did not immediately swell once I got up and walked around to get ready for the day.  I can feel some improvement in controlling the swelling.  I have not used any pain killers since falling back on my foot last week.  Last Saturday I finally got outside for more than a few minutes.  It was my son's 7th birthday.  I told him I wouldn't miss it.  We had a good time with family and friends at a park.  It was nice to visit with them too.  I mostly enjoyed being outside.

Today, I had my first post-op visit.  My splint and bandaging were removed by an assistant nurse.  It felt awesome to finally be able to scratch areas of my leg covered by the splint.  She said the swelling and busing looked normal, and that there was no sign of infection.  She also said the scaring looked really good.

 

  Finally free from the splint.

 Some of the gauze stuck to my heel.

 

Close up of the new scar.

 
I could tell my left thigh had atrophied some these past two weeks.  I could see it more clearly in my left calf muscle once the splint was off. After the nurse removed the stitches a physicians assistant came in to check on the healing, pain management, and to explain the next steps in recovery.  He moved my foot up and down (dorsiflexion and plantar flexion).  He also moved my foot inward (ankle inversion) and said that I am not to invert it outward.  This is to prevent the ligaments around the tendons from being damaged and not healing properly.  It felt good to stretch my feet and leg muscles.  He said I will have a cam boot for the next four weeks, and to slowly start putting more weight on my left foot as tolerable.  He expects me to be walking in the cam boot without crutches in the next three days.  He didn't want me going back to work full time until next week.  I was hoping to be able to go back today.  One more week won't be too bad this time.  At least I will be able to move around more.  My next appointment is in four weeks.  Physical therapy will start after that visit.  I have been sleeping on the couch in the basement for the past two weeks.  I am looking forward to sleeping in my be tonight.

Left leg atrophy.  The muscle feels soft and the skin is stretchy.

 My new shoe for the next four weeks.