Thursday, October 10, 2013

Gruesome Picture of my Foot

Today we went in to get the surgical site rewrapped.  I have to say that this procedure has been more painful than the other two on my right foot.   I would guess it's due to there being two incisions and the number of nerves that were removed.  To get to the nerves, the transverse metatarsal ligament has to be cut, and in this case cut twice so the nerves could be resected.



It was good that I got it done.  Bad things were going on in my foot, and they were not going to get any better.   The normal foot has one nice little nerve that goes up between the toes in the second and third spaces.  My nerves had thickened up between the toes (the neuroma) and had sprouted branches everywhere.  All of those little branches had to be pulled out, as well as the main trunk of the nerve.  That was a fair amount of digging.
Now, you have been warned.  The next photo after this drawing is my foot.  If you're squeamish, now would be a good time to click away.
 


The skin is everted like that to provide as much surface area as possible for the cut areas to adhere.  Over time they'll flatten out.  Since the ligament is now cut in two places, the skin has to take up more of the slack in holding my foot together.

 
I'm to keep it elevated 6 inches higher than my hip for 72 hours.  It's really tedious.  Dr. Lewis said I didn't have to use crutches, but I am very glad I have them.  Nothing is that far away in the RV, but keeping the foot off the ground is good.  So, that's what's happening here.

2 comments:

  1. Doesn't sound or look like fun but I am sure you will be glad to get rid of the pain. Won't it be nice to get back to pain free hiking and bike riding!

    Good Luck with your recovery!

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  2. Fingers crossed that recovery goes as desired! I can imagine the next few days will be no fun...thank goodness you are a toughie! Right? ;-)

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