inside ankle pain after ankle fusion surgery.
by Tammy
I had ankle fusion surgery back in June of 2010. My ankle has never been broken however the found a cyst growing inside the ankle, and originally I had surgey to clean this out and they packed the ankle with donor bone. It seemed to heal but then 4 months after the surgery I started again feeling pain in the ankle. They did a ct scan and an mri. The ct scan showed another cyst had formed under the bone the dr packed. The mri showed a parital collapse of the medial side of the ankle. That is when I had to have ankle fusion, that was almost 4 months ago. However, when the dr stated I should start putting weight on it, I ended up in more pain then before the surgery. Now I am in almost constant pain on the inside of my ankle, this pain goes up the front of the shin, and across the foot. sometimes the outside where the surgery was done hurts sometimes but mostly it is the inside of the ankle. It does hurt first thing in the morning and after I have been sitting for a while. I am doing physical therapy but it seems to hurt more after, and I am still wearing an ankle boot. The pain has been so bad lately that it also awakens me at night. The doctor has taken xrays and another ct since the surgery and states everything is healing just fine and there is nothing there. I do not know what to do now but I am still in pain and I cant even do my housework. Please if you have an idea of what I can do please let me know. Hi Tammy, My first thought is that it has only been a little over three months since your surgery so it is probably still too early to fully assess the success of the surgery. Keep in mind you have had two surgeries in the same area both for a cyst which will inherently weaken the bone and make it more difficult for the surgeon to fuse the ankle. Under these circumstances I am not surprised that there is still pain. You can do one of two things. Give it more time and if you see a reduction in pain, albeit a slow one, then you are probably doing alright. Or, if you are really concerned that there may be an issue here, go for a second opinion and have your ankle and radiology tests reviewed by a fresh pair of eyes. There may be things that can be done to the boot or even your shoe that will slightly change the pitch of your foot when it hits the ground, that will reduce the discomfort so be sure to ask your doctor or physical therapist for any suggestions. Marc Mitnick DPM
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