Last shot of my foot before going into surgery.
Well folks, the ankle replacement was a success! The surgery ended up taking about 4 hours this morning. I didn't really come to until about 5 this evening. Val talked with Beals for a while after the surgery while I was passed out so I will explain what I know from a third person point of view.
Overall, Beals was very pleased with the range of motion that was gained by the implant. Apparently, the talus bone (bone that the bottom of the implant fuses to) crumbled away at the surface but he was able to find good bone to use. There was no space or cartildge in my ankle joint which explains the ever increasing pain I have had all year. He also removed a lot of scarring that was also limiting my range of motion. With that, he manipulated the ankle after it was installed to see how much range of motion could be gained. It sounds like he was very happy with the motion gained which make me happy (and hopeful). He also removed the two screws that were used to fuse my subtalar joint in April '10. One is 4" and the other is 3/12". They are no longer needed b/c there is no more joint there, just bone that has fused together.
I will start active and passive range of motion exercises in 3 weeks, non-weight bearing for 6-8 weeks, and back to a strenuous therapy routine sometime but not sure when.
Beals knows me well enough to have saved the screws for me which is what I'm holding up in the plastic bag here.
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