Peroneal tendon repair..worth it?

[Kyrabee]

Yep…I finally got the thought to dig out my heel wedges from the old days. I had worn one a long time but finally had to quit has the calluses on the side of my foot got immense and painful.
I had done OK without it for about a year before the surgery.

My PCP suggested a heel lift as my right leg was shorter but the plain lift didn’t feel good for the foot so then I dug out the wedges and that has helped the hip/thigh pain. So far, I’m not callusing terribly so we will see over time.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Susan

[Renn_aissance]

Well, y’all are scaring me into treating mine better… I have a peroneal tendon injury from college that I “rest” by riding without stirrups. I don’t think I want this surgery. :eek:

[red_mares]

Babying your ankle is a better plan than surgery. However, while I’m not 100% after surgery a year ago, the 70-80% I’m at is a heck of a lot better than the 40-50% I was at before reconstruction. :yes: I was a wreck.

Riding is a lot better than walking for me too.

[dm]

I just started to walk on my foot today. At first, it was very uncoordinated and weak, with prickly, electric shock kinds of feelings on the bottom of my foot. After about 10 minutes of being up and down and around, the shock stuff went away. I did really well. I started with one crutch but by the end of the day I was walking around my house without anything and using a cane for outside. Not much pain there at all. My surgery was March 26. I think I’m doing pretty well. I have my boot on, of course.

I’m very pleased with the surgery and the recovery so far. There is nothing happening that leads me to believe I won’t be 100% after this finishes healing. My surgeon agrees.

[dm]

Just thought I’d give a little update about my peroneal tendon surgery I had March 26. Long split tear of the peroneal longus; tenodesis to the peroneal longus.

I’m doing very well. Maybe it’s my perspective on this because I’ve had a lot of pretty major surgeries over the past few years, but I think I’ve had an easier time with this than what I read on here and what I’ve read on most blogs.

Released from my “cast/boot prison” lol and just have an ankle brace on it inside my regular running shoe. Feels a little weak and a little sore, but nothing I can’t deal with. Actually, from the first day post op, I’ve had less pain than I had before the surgery when it flared up. I’m happy.

I can start riding lightly at 8 weeks post op. I’ve been feeding my two horses for about a week and a half. I bought a 2nd boot on ebay for $40 that was identical to the boot design I was given at the surgeon’s office after my cast came off. I wore the ebay boot out to the barn to keep things cleaner. Nice that I don’t even have to wear that any more, although I was told I’ll need it on “bad days.”

So far, so good. I wouldn’t hesitate to have this done again if the other ankle blows out. The non-weightbearing weeks were a pain in the butt, but the knee walker made them more bearable.

[Kyrabee]

Good for you dm.

I had tears in both the brevis and longus and a small one at the end of the posterior tibial tendon. He didn’t have to do any grafts but I had a mess under where the tendons were torn with a lipoma/scar mess and a bone spur. He threw in a retinacular release just because. Not to mention, I tried to live with it for 10 years.

Anyway, I am back for a second try at physical therapy. It seems to be getting stronger. The PT did e-stim on my peroneal muscle today…that was interesting. It worked though…my leg is tired.

I have had a lot of surgery too…not that that is anything write home about but the last two I have had did not have the outcomes I had hoped. Nothing’s really worse…just not better. And, of course, I am not getting any younger. Oh well, life goes on and I will figure out how to stay involved in it.:winkgrin:

Susan

[dm]

kyrabee, oh sorry your ankle is coming back more slowly. You had a lot more going on than the peroneal tears. Maybe that’s why mine is going pretty well–only the one tear in the brevis.

I do have Achilles degeneration, longitudinal tear, and thickening and will have to have surgery on that, but the surgeon didn’t want to do it within 6 months of the peroneal tendon surgery. He said operating on two areas so close together makes healing and recovery more difficult. Best to do it no earlier than 6 months apart.

At first I was thinking he was being too conservative and tried to talk him into doing both at the same time, but after hearing about all the stuff you had done and that yours isn’t back to normal, I’m thinking it’s probably smarter to do them separately and hope that does make the recovery easier.

Hope your ankle comes around OK.

[Thecreativeside]

Hi, i had peroneal tendon surgery and debridement to repair tears and tendonosis after 2 ankle sprains. I work as a mail carrier, i worked injured for one year prior to finding a diagnosis. I had the surgery in November of 2017, its now april 2018. I have returned to work on modified duties, only walking one hour a day delivering mail. It is not going well despite physio, and 3 months of modified work. By the end of the day, standing on concrete, walking, stairs, hill while carrying weight… my foot is killing me by the end of the week. Im beginning to wonder if i will ever be able to carry mail as a full time carrier or is my career done? We walk upward of 24km/day carrying 40 lbs. I dont know anyone else in my line of work who has ever had this surgery, and their recovery time… i go see the orthopaedic surgeon next week… not sure where this is doing to go… frustrating for sure

[kimb681a2b]

Hi!

I started my journey with my peroneal tendons in 2013. It’s been a very very long and arduous journey! I wouldn’t recommend surgery unless it’s 1,000% necessary!! My life will never be the same!!

Rewind to 6/2013 I was working as a vet tech and noticed I was having a lot of pain and swelling on the outside of my right ankle. I also noticed a hard lump. I went to my family Dr and she thought the lump was a ganglion cyst. She recommended I see an Orthopedic surgeon. While waiting for my appointment with the ortho it got so bad I couldn’t even put a shoe on. Because of the pain and swelling associated with the hard lump he recommended an MRI. After the MRI He said indeed the lump was a ganglion cyst but he suspected underneath the cyst my personal tendon was torn . He warned if the tendon was torn my recovery would be longer. I noticed my surgeon didn’t have the best bedside manner but I went ahead and scheduled the procedure. Sure enough the tendon was torn so my recovery was going to be twice as long. Recovery seemed to be going well!!

The cast came off after 4 weeks. I got my CAM boot and started physical therapy . 3 times a week I went faithfully! Did my exercises as told. It never seemed quite right! I went back to my ortho over and over and told him I still was in extreme pain. He kept telling me it was tendinitis and to go back in my CAM boot for two weeks. I did that a few times before I lost hope and just decided it would take time to heal as he told me it would take a year to be fully healed.

After a year and half of living in pain I finally sought out a second opinion! So glad I did! My new surgeon who was AWESOME said when was the last time you had an MRI. I said before surgery and his response was why? From then on I knew I found my guy. The MRI showed a ruptured tendon so on 7/7/2015 he proformed a tendon transfer surgery which fused the two peroneals together. I also had bone spurs removed from the inside top of my ankle. I had many issues once again only this time I had an Ortho on my side listening to me. He sent me to other specialists like pain management and a vascular surgeon! I was diagnosed with RSD a nerve dysfunction and had vein surgery for valve issues. I spent three days a week for months at PT. I still was having major pain and swelling issues. I had another MRI of my ankle and of my foot. My Dr couldn’t see much though because of my previous surgeries. He thought at this point the only option would be to do triple arthrodesis which fuses three bones in the foot but insisted I get a second opinion first

My Dr decided to send me to one of his colleagues for a second opinion! I think that’s a sign of a good doctor I agreed to go only if he’d still do my surgery! He said of course! He said he just wanted to be sure there wasn’t something he was missing! He didn’t want to take away my range of motion if there were other options. The second surgeon agreed after an extensive review of my records, physical exam and watching me walk that triple arthrodesis was my best option.

On 7/7/2016 I had the surgery! Once in there my Dr found I had developed so much scar tissue that the tendons weren’t even moving. He had to take them completely out. They placed 4 screws, a bone staple and a tightrope. The tightrope was to fix my big toe which had started going out. I spent three months in a cast non weight bearing . 3 months feels like an eternity when you can’t walk. I went through months of PT! Because of the fusion of three bones my foot only moves up and down. It can no longer move side to side. I now only have minimal pain if I’m on my feet too long. I am no longer able to perform my job as a vet tech though because I can’t stand for 8-12 hours a day. I miss my job! I loved what I did. I’m now a vet receptionist because I can sit to do that. I don’t like it much. This is why I say peroneal surgery ruined my life. Don’t do unless you absolutely have to. Things are never the same after surgery!

I did have one more surgery to remove a screw that I could feel when I walked! 4 surgeries all in all. 2 years of of work on disability. I’m still not 100% and definitely know when the weather is changing! I hope this helps someone in some way.