Fractured Talus

[zaz]

Hello all, just found this site, just what i am looking for. As well as well as fracturing my talus bone i also fractured T5 in back and blowout fracture of the left orbit and a few other injuries. The fracture of the talus is what is giving me the most problems. I had pins to start with, they were removed. Because of pain my os did an ankle arthroscopy, this did not help. It has since been discovered that I have AVN of the talus bone. I have had a bone graft 12 months ago and although i had relief from the pain for a short time, it has been discovered that i have AVN again. My OS has mentioned to me a fusion but am unsure about this, although the pain is getting worse evryday and am very limited in what i can do, have had to give up my job and plan every move i make. I would be interested to hear anyone elses experiences in this area.

[injuryupdate]

Interesting (and sad) to see how many people out there are suffering from ankle arthritis and really can only consider fusion as an alternative to reduce the suffering.

With hip and knee arthritis cases, joint replacement allows people to get back to normal everyday activities with little pain, and importantly movement.

Ankle replacements are available but not generally performed because the success rate is not as high as hip and knee replacement.

Interested to hear about whether anyone (particularly in Australia) is doing replacements of the ankle joint with success.

[bloss]

Interesting (and sad) to see how many people out there are suffering from ankle arthritis and really can only consider fusion as an alternative to reduce the suffering.

With hip and knee arthritis cases, joint replacement allows people to get back to normal everyday activities with little pain, and importantly movement.

Ankle replacements are available but not generally performed because the success rate is not as high as hip and knee replacement.

Interested to hear about whether anyone (particularly in Australia) is doing replacements of the ankle joint with success.

Yes, both Dr Andrew Wines and Dr Peter Lam at www.sydneyortho.com.au do this procedure when patients fit the criteria.

[Unregistered]

Yes, both Dr Andrew Wines and Dr Peter Lam at www.sydneyortho.com.au do this procedure when patients fit the criteria.
There are other foot surgeons who also do replacements. I can give you their names if you want. They are usually reserved for older patients as the results are not good in young people who are active and will wear out a replacement.

[zaz]

There are other foot surgeons who also do replacements. I can give you their names if you want. They are usually reserved for older patients as the results are not good in young people who are active and will wear out a replacement.
Thanks, yes i would like he names, at this point in time anything would be helpful. Zaz

[Unregistered]

I fell of my moped 17 months ago and broke my talus. I have had 2 operations and still can't walk. The first operation was to insert 5 screws. 10 months after the first operation, my doctor decided it was unsuccessful. So he then removed 4 of the screws and stuffed my bone with artificial bone. That made my foot even worse. Now my doctor has sent me to see a specialist, who said he wants to try a bone graft. I go for my operation in 1 months time. Fingers crossed it will be a success, but I am not very hopeful. I am only 24 years old and have already wasted a year and a half of my life.

[Unregistered]

I am so sorry you have had to have so much pain, I know where you are coming from. I have had the bone graft, whereas the bone graft was completely successful i still had a lot of pain and was very limited in my activities. I have since had a fusion which was in January 2006, i am hoping this will relieve the pain, won't know for a while yet, the healing process is long and painful but i am hoping worth it in the long run. I still hope i have done he right thing. I hope your bone graft goes well and you don't have to have anything else done. Goodluck.zaz

[Hillbilly]

Zaz
I had a severe ankle fracture two years ago. Arthritis settled in quickly and I was in extreme pain. I had an ankle fusion in October 2004. The doctor said once it healed I would experience very little pain. It is as painful now as it was before the surgery. Most people only have minimal pain after the fusion and I don't want to discourage you from trying it.

Sincerely
Hillbilly:)

[Mich]

I just got out of surgery, I had a hip bone graft and right subtalar fusion. My surgeon Dr Lam stated it was the only way to relieve me of the symptoms of subtalar arthritis after breaking the bone. (stupid drunk drivers). He seemed to be very sure of what he is doing- and I have only heard good things about his work. I have to wait at least two months to see if the bone fuses properly and I have a pin going the joint.

[shailee]

Hi i was in car accident and broke my right talus my first surgery was having screws (2) insert to see if it healed that didnt happen the talus bones came further apart by week11 after that happened i had another surgery which i was referred to a hand specialist (yes i know it was in my foot thou the injury) well you see hand surgeons i found out the bones in the hand are more complicated and smaller than in the foot, well this surgery i had they took a bonegrafting from the long bone beneath my big toe and also they diod microsurgery and brought blood vessels up to my talus as well with two smaller screws this has worked well for me so far i do get aches in it when it is cold n when i been on my feet for hours as i waitress and bartender it hurts and i do have trouble the next day walking on that foot as it swells my surgery was done at the royal adelaide hospital by dr geoff sandow a hand specialist if any1 wanted to know, thort id share that with you all

[dlshort]

Hello all, just found this site, just what i am looking for. As well as well as fracturing my talus bone i also fractured T5 in back and blowout fracture of the left orbit and a few other injuries. The fracture of the talus is what is giving me the most problems. I had pins to start with, they were removed. Because of pain my os did an ankle arthroscopy, this did not help. It has since been discovered that I have AVN of the talus bone. I have had a bone graft 12 months ago and although i had relief from the pain for a short time, it has been discovered that i have AVN again. My OS has mentioned to me a fusion but am unsure about this, although the pain is getting worse evryday and am very limited in what i can do, have had to give up my job and plan every move i make. I would be interested to hear anyone elses experiences in this area.
I had a subtalus fusion and so far things are going well. I busted my talus in 3 places and it was as close to an open fx that one can get. Thank godness for winter boots. This was 20 months ago. I have had my last screw removed. But I am aggressive with physical therapy. So I am subborn when they tell me I will have limited movement, I will not accept it. I think my doc knows this and is looking for me to be one of the rare exceptions.
I had AVN and they "fixed the problem" as best they could. Only time will tell. Good luck.

[vanhart2]

4 months ago I was in a car accident that left me with my talus shattered and 8 pins in my ankle. I am currently able to walk on it with little pain it is the swelling that really bothers me. in the morning my foot looks about the same as the other foot minus the 4 inch scars on both sides of my foot. but by nights end my foot is three times the size that is should be. My doctor is surprised that I have recovered so well considering that this was the worst fracture he has ever seen, unless he says that to all his patients; :) I am wondering if anyone with this type of injury has ever been able to wear high heels again? I know it is shallow and that I should be grateful that I still have my foot, but I can't help but wonder if I will be able to wear those heels that are gathering dust.....

[dmuir]

HI everyone.I have read so many of your stories and it has given some hope but has me a little scared.13 weeks ago I shatterd my left talus in an ATV accident.I had surgery the next day and had 4 screws puy in it.My OS said it is one of the worse injuries he has ever seen.I was in a fiberglass cast for the first 6 weeks and have been in an air cast for the last 7 weeks,although I'm not allowed to apply any weight to it.I have had no pain and no swelling for the last 9 weeks and the ankle feels very good,almost normal(haha).I am amazed how small my left leg is compared to my right.I was wondering what to expect when starting physio??what can I do at home to speed up the recovery??I know to follow what the doc says,but not everyone listens(haha) I would appreciate anyone that can give me some idea to try and get my life back to normal...

[BAVSTHEONE]

well i am in the same boat i broke both calcaneus bones in my heel from a fall from a tree back in june 06 ive had 2 operations with my last in september 07 i had a subtalar fusion with 1 very large screw and i had a bone graft from my hip i spent 3 days in hospital and still today 27th of december 07 i cant walk on my left foot .so i feel your pain as i cant work either since my fall but i hope early 08 i have better luck to walk.anyway have a great new year cheers Darryl:confused:

[Asia]

Hey
I am sorry to hear about your foot and your story. I can't offer much advice but I was wondering if you can help me out.
My mom broke her foot on Dec 25, 2006 from skating. It was a compound fracture of the fibula.
Dec 26, 2006- she had the surgery. The Dr gave her a plate for her fibula and 6 screws adn 1 pin.
April 2007- Dr removed the pin
My mom still can't walk and its Jan 8, 2008. She limps everytiem she moves her ankle has lost Range of Motion. Physio is not that helpful. Its seems like its just stuck and it does not want to do a planter/dorsi flexion.
If anyone can help pls respond to
joanna.chlopek@gmail.com

[Trish]

Has anyone had an open talus fracture? I am 21 and had an open talus fracture at 19 in a car accident. The talus bone came out of my ankle and part of the bone died due to extreme blood loss from a torn artery. I had the open reduction external fixater for a few months followed by six months in a cast and not being able to weight bare until a year later. I am still in pain everyday and experiencing extreme difficulty in walking. My doctors don't know if it will get any better than this because of my age and it has already been two years. If there is anyone else that had a similar experience I would like to know how you are doing.

[blessedwithblackness]

I just got into a real bad car accident and broke my talus in half? what should i expect out all of this? im in pain! im only 24!!!!!:(

[blessedwithblackness]

Hey,,i Just broke my talus on sept.3rd I think,,,just had surgery...they said i broke it in half. had to plate on each side with two 4inch scars just like you...I go in next monday for a follow up....IM IN SO MUCH PAIN!! with this stupid boot on!>..anyway I made a list of questions to ask and one of them was do you think I'll be able to wear heels again? haha...I dont think its shallow at all....wish i could answer that now?..i just wanna walk again...im only 24!

[ToniRoni]

I broke my talus March 15th 2008.Im walking a tad.It still hurts when I walk.I started walkining and bearing weight on it in July. I broke other bones too but this is the worse the others are minor like a radius bone and a femur.My talus broke in half and some of the bone missing.My visit in June some of the bone died so far my last visits I had it has stayed the same. I guess as long as I stay on calcuim pills and a Bayer a day we'll be some what fine.The bone has its moments at days.I cry and take my Happy Pill for it to stop hurting. So I guess we'll wait and see how everyone here does.Good luck everyone.

[ToniRoni]

As for the heel thing I wonder the same thing...hmmmmm.I know I can't bowl for a year and the treadmill for two years the doc said.

[macyhurts]

I am only 15 years young, to start this off. I currently fractured my talus and shattered every bone in my foot and some other little things on October 12, 2008 in a horrible high speed car crash. I was the passenger and somehow, without knowing about my injury yet i saved my friends by literally carrying them out of the car which is probably why my foot is so bad. The orthopedic put in six pins, with four of them going all the way through my leg and attached them to an external fixator. They also inserted a titanium plate inside my foot with an incision on each side of my foot with stitches holding the incision together. It hurts constantly right now but it's only been about three weeks since the accident. I'm so scarred that i will not be able to walk ever again i have been through three surgery's so far and im scared. I wanna be insured that i will walk, please someone help me. I'm just a little girl, this ain't fair, i wasn't the one driving this ain't fair. :(

[aelynwyn]

I don't know if this will help anyone, but here is my story along with a question to anyone with a similar Talus injury like mine:

I was in a car accident July 2, 2008. I fractured my right Talus, at the neck. It was a non-displaced fracture so I did not have to have surgery at the time. I wore the temporary cast the ER gave me for a week and then was put into a fiberglass cast for 6 weeks, none weight bearing the entire time. I was then put into a walking boot for two more weeks, also none weight bearing, and then I was given permission to add partial weight. I started Physical Therapy when I was put into the boot, doing ROM exercises both there and at home, and then I did more/different exercises once I was given permission to weight bare. I had to start off at 30lbs. of pressure one week, 60lbs. the next, and so on until I got back up to full weight. I was able to walk with full weight by September 22, 2008. I had a horrible limp and I only got my ROM up to +6 degrees (you need at least +15 degrees to walk w/o a limp, but I'm sure most of you know that) by November 4, 2008. My therapist and I tried everything and I worked as hard as I possibly could to get to where I needed to be but to no avail. I went back to see my OS for a follow up and told him about my problem and he sent me over for a CT scan which revealed that I had a large sheet of calcium and a large amount of scar tissue covering the side of the Talus which was impairing my movement from going any further. They also discovered that my bone had not fully healed. The only fix was surgery to shave down the calcium and cut out the scar tissue. I had that done December 4, 2008 and the OS cut and shaved everything he needed and went inside the joint to check and make sure there was nothing in there that shouldn't be and afterwards moved my foot up and down, side to side, and I had at that time +10 degrees of motion. The last five degrees will be exercising and stretching my muscles and tendons to get them to where they should be. To deal with the problem of the bone not being completely healed I opted for a Bone Growth Stimulator instead of pins, screws, and grafts. I wanted to heal my bones as naturally as possible and this was the best method for me personally. The healing process takes longer with the BGS (up to 18 weeks) but it is less invasive and can be less damaging. I went back to full weight bearing December 24, 2008 and it is very sore, stiff, and swollen around the ankle and my heel area feels bruised when I walk. I went back to PT on December 11, 2008 and have been going twice a week since then. When I went back my therapist checked my ROM and I was at a -30 degrees and today I am currently at -4 degrees. The swelling has went down in my foot and toes but is still "granny like" in the ankle area (no offense to any grandmothers).
I know I am quite impatient and I was wondering if any one with a Talus injury similar to mine has been able to make a complete recovery and if you are able to walk without a limp? How long did it take to get back to somewhat of a normal walk? Also, does the pain in the heel area get better?
I know everyone heals differently and each case is vastly different from one to the next, but any further insight would be greatly appreciated.

[rogdog]

Hello all, just found this site, just what i am looking for. As well as well as fracturing my talus bone i also fractured T5 in back and blowout fracture of the left orbit and a few other injuries. The fracture of the talus is what is giving me the most problems. I had pins to start with, they were removed. Because of pain my os did an ankle arthroscopy, this did not help. It has since been discovered that I have AVN of the talus bone. I have had a bone graft 12 months ago and although i had relief from the pain for a short time, it has been discovered that i have AVN again. My OS has mentioned to me a fusion but am unsure about this, although the pain is getting worse evryday and am very limited in what i can do, have had to give up my job and plan every move i make. I would be interested to hear anyone elses experiences in this area.

I fractured my talus bone 4 years ago. Initially i had the screws and had the threat of loss of blood supply to the bone. Fortunately, i didn't loose blood supply but after the recovery i didn't had any muscle or flexibility ( had the screws removed also). 2 years ago i had achilles lengthening which was quite painful at the time but has been well worth it. It has allowed me to get the flexibility from the joint and lead as normal life as possible. I still get the soreness and occasional swelling from my left foot but as for quality of life its not bad. With constant physio and stretching i believe that i will be able to run at 70% pace hopefully soon. I only worry for the arthritis and problems that await me for later in life.

[wtafel]

I had Leukemia in 1993 and had a BMT with High levels of Steroids. had both hips done in 1996 and that went very well. I still play Tennis Ski and other things I should not do, but as of late my right Talus bone has broken down over time. Had it cleaned out because of Spurs and arthritis. Had to stop playing and it hurts from surgury over 3 month ago.

doctor is wanting to offer Fusion of the ankle and that does not sit well for me. I am looking at alternative options to repair or regrow the Talus Bone. Any suggestions!!

[wtafel]

Did they do a graft of your Talus Bone ??