Broken/dislocated ankle

thandy

thandy

Ten Pointer
Son Facetimed me yesterday and all I heard was screaming and cussing. I got him calmed down and he showed me foot, it was flopping and hanging sideways. Doing surgery tomorrow and orthopedic said "if all goes well you will be in a boot in 4 weeks and good to go in 8 weeks". Anyone have any experience with something like this? I have broke several bones but nothing below the waist. The only time he got upset was worrying about playing baseball this fall. The picture below is his ankle, he is laying on his back and his foot should be pointing up.
 

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I have treated and sat in on several surgeries similar to what we will have done. The key will be to listen to his medical team, especially physical therapy post surgery. Happy to have you reach out on PM to get my contact info and we can talk and try to help answer any questions you have.

Also how did he do it?
 
dfitzy said:
I have treated and sat in on several surgeries similar to what we will have done. The key will be to listen to his medical team, especially physical therapy post surgery. Happy to have you reach out on PM to get my contact info and we can talk and try to help answer any questions you have.

Also how did he do it?
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He was fishing at a golf course he goes to a couple times a week. He was walking across a hill close to where they wash the carts and slipped in the wet grass, his foot caught traction and snapped.

The doctor seemed pretty optimistic that things would go well. He is 19, strong and in good shape the doc said PT might not be necessary. Going to put in a plate to repair the fiblua and repair the tendon/ligament that runs between the two bones. If things go wrong during the surgery tomorrow I will reach out, thank you!

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PT and listening to the recovery team will be what makes the difference. It'll always be somewhat aggravating but the recovery can be the difference between constant reinjury or relatively no problems. Being young helps a bunch.

I badly sprained my right ankle playing baseball and missed a lot of my senior basketball season due to a knee injury. Both of them healed up without preventing me from doing much but they still bother me and my ankle is really prone to turning over.
 
I was cutting a big yellow pine tree off of a garage where it had fallen . It was in a bind and when I cut through it jump up ,hit me in the knee , knocking me down and landed on my left ankle. Broke two bones in my ankle , not sure you would call it dislocated but it was flooping around like a rag doll . Ended up with a plate with screws on the outside of my ankle and a bunch of screws on the inside . I was in a hard cast for six weeks and was to be in a walking boot for a couple more weeks . FYI when the DR took the cast off and X-rayed the ankle he said that he had never seen an ankle heal that quickly . I used a knee walker to get around while it was in the hard cast but give up on the walking boot because it was killing my knee walking with it .This was several year ago and has not given me any long term problems . I hope that your son heals soundly and quickly .
 
Gus said:
The first 85% of mobility/strength comes back pretty quickly and you can walk and do most stuff fine. That last 15% to get back to really being athletic requires a serious approach to PT.
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Agree with this. I can’t tell from the xray but my assumption is there are some torn ligaments as well, which is where the physical therapy comes in.

I will be praying for surgery and his recovery and do reach out if you or your son have any questions.
 
Broke my left one unloading the truck at 6 in the morning after getting back from a Nebraska hunting trip. A titanium plate and 4 screws later, I was back to work in 2 months post surgery (I’m driving around all day, otherwise I’d have been good for desk work) after really hitting it hard and pushing myself in PT. Think it was 4+ months before I was back to light jogging. Now it just likes to swell up on me after a week in the elk woods. I still do single leg presses like they had me do in PT, just with way heavier weight.
 
A truly dislocated ankle is a dangerous injury. If it is relocated incorrectly, you can lose the foot. Our team had one 2 years ago in a high school football game and the MD on the field who has relocated several other joints wouldn’t touch it. Called EMS.

This one looks simpler to me.?
 
Surgery went well yesterday. Got a titanium plate, 10 screw, and a band around the two bones to help hold them together. The doctor was amazed to find nothing torn. She said normally they break both bones or break one and tear the tendons on the other but everything was still attached and good. Hopefully this will make his recovery a little better.
 
np307 said:
PT and listening to the recovery team will be what makes the difference. It'll always be somewhat aggravating but the recovery can be the difference between constant reinjury or relatively no problems. Being young helps a bunch.

I badly sprained my right ankle playing baseball and missed a lot of my senior basketball season due to a knee injury. Both of them healed up without preventing me from doing much but they still bother me and my ankle is really prone to turning over.
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Daughter made a game-winning tackle in the last moments of the state soccer championships. Then she could not get up :(.
The ortho came out and told us, "Good news, her ankle is broken". After I put him down, he explained that a clean break away from the growth plate is actually much better than a bad sprain. He said bones will heal 100%, but a sprain never heals back quite 100%. Couple months later she was back on the pitch, no more ankle issues.
 
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I had ORIF a couple years ago, plates, screws and tightropes. Here is what helped me through it. Get a shower bag off amazon. Maybe find a shower chair on marketplace. I borrowed a knee scooter and could actually get around faster than I could on two feet. Getting the stitches out feels like picking a bunch of scabs off before they are ready to be picked off. I liked PT a lot and it did help. After 5 years my ankle still doesn't have quite the flexibility as the other.
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I treat these pretty often in the ER. Even did one tonight. We reduce the fracture/dislocation and splint. Sometimes admit djr surgery or send home with quick follow up and surgery, case depending. Patients usually recover very well post op
 
Being 19 and in good shape will be his saving grace. That happened to my old butt I’d be recovering for years. Hope surgery goes well and he gets on the ball field asap,
 
While I agree he should heal up and things be good on that side of things, he now might be able to tell you when its going to rain due to the pain
 
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