Ruptured peroneus longus tendon, left foot (MRI)

by CarolinaGirl

I am 40 year old female with pain in my left foot which started 9 months ago with spot tenderness on the lateral portion of my foot between the little toe and the ankle. I had fallen 3 months earlier but did not have acute pain at that time. I did RICE and stopped walking/running. The pain continued but it didn't inhibit my normal activities; it was more of a nuisance.

Three months ago I began working out more with treadmill/eliptical and weight lifting plus a lot of walking. The pain became unbearable and I stopped all extra activity. I was limping. I went to see my doctor who did x-rays (negative) and MRI (complete rupture of the peroneus longus tendon with a gap of 2.5 cm). My pain on the side and in the arch is 24/7 now, worse with any activity, and I have a tingling pain on the top of my foot as well. Surgery is scheduled next week as the surgeon says this is the only option.

What is the prognosis after this surgery? I assume I will be non-weight bearing for 6 weeks and then PT. Will I be able to return to running/working out? Will I likely have recurrent problems with this in the future? My doctor has a good reputation but doesn't see this injury often and he doesn't say a lot (he is straight to the point). I am terrified of having surgery on my foot and even more afraid that my foot will never be the same again. Thank you in advance for your help.

Hi,

After reading your whole account the thing that bothers me the most is that you state your doctor does not have much experience with this condition. Your chances of success are almost (but not guaranteed) to be proportional to the experience of the surgeon in treating this type of condition.
My best advice to you would be to get a second opinion from a doctor who is experienced in this type of surgery and perhaps let he or she perform the surgery.
Marc Mitnick DPM