Wednesday, November 25, 2015

The Reveal of the Achilles Surgery

We saw the surgeon yesterday.  He's a fairly terse guy, friendly but laconic.  We learned that Jim's rupture, although complete, was not as bad as many he has seen in the past.  This is probably good.
The splint was removed.  The cast lady had to work on it some to get it off.  The hard part was made out of plaster, which is why it was so heavy.


This is the incision.  At this point the stitches were still in.  Note the bruising and the swelling in the heel.


Here is the incision with the stitches out.  It doesn't look all that different.


The cast is being built now.  First there is a soft stocking applied.  Jim's foot is resting on a support.


Then mass quantities of fluffy material are wrapped around the leg.


The first layer of fiber glass has been applied here.  It comes in a roll, and is dunked in water.  Then it's wrapped around the leg.  The top and bottom of the stocking have been rolled back over the first fiber glass layer.


This is the second layer of fiber glass.  We went for the high visibility color.  It almost glows in the dark.


When they were wrapping, Jim was asked to push his knee forward a little.  The back of his calf is really tight.  He's going to have a fair amount of work to do with that in the future.  At the moment his toes are dropped about 10 degrees to keep any tension off the repaired tendon.
We have three weeks in the cast, non weight bearing.  Currently the cast is fairly uncomfortable.  Jim hasn't been able to find a good place to put his leg yet.  It could be a long three weeks.  After that there will be a boot, non weight bearing.  Slowly, he'll be able to put weight on it.  It's a process.

10 comments:

  1. Well that's fascinating! I've never had a cast nor seen one applied. Wishing Jim patience as he heals.

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    1. My 1st, and I sincerely hope my last..................

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  2. Brings back all those memories. Sleeping was really hard for me cause I kept kicking myself with the cast. Hang in there Joe.

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    1. I can't imagine how bad your fall must have been.

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  3. :::THUD::: (That's the sound of me hitting the floor after one look at that incision!) I am so sorry for you both, but hope you can find a little joy for the Thanksgiving holiday. For all else, there's alcohol! Sending big hugs your way...

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    1. It is an ugly sucker isn't it. I damn near fell off the table when I saw it............................

      ps: The alcohol is working well..............:)

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  4. UGH! Yeah, that incision photo...whew. Glad I don't have a weak stomach! On the positive side, love the high-viz cast. I've never been in a cast either (knock wood). Happy Thanksgiving and may all this pass quickly.

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  5. Replies
    1. Can't imagine why..............................

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  6. With all of the modern surgery techniques, you'd think it could have been a little less invasive. That is one huge incision!! Hope you are able to get comfortable soon, Jim:)

    Happy Thanksgiving, Allison and Jim!

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