Injury report: day 2
Sep. 1st, 2005 12:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sauergeekNote: I am not going to run a daily log of everything that happens, just the interesting stuff. However, most of the interesting stuff is going to be early on, so bear with me -- or just ignore these.
After much chasing around, I got two recommendations from friends for orthopedists. (Orthopedic surgeons? Same thing?) One does work on Achilles tendons, but didn't take my insurance. The other doesn't do Achilles tendons. However, there was another doctor in his office that did, so I made an appointment with him: Dr. Brantley Vitek. Dr. Vitek confirmed that the tendon is entirely severed. However, he told me there are two treatment options, surgery and immobilization.
Surgery: shorter recovery time (6 weeks estimated), usually a better rejoin of the tendon (because it's sewn together), less likely to re-rupture. However, it does carry the risks of surgery, such as reaction to drugs and possibility of infection.
Immobilization: longer recovery time (10 weeks estimated), less likely to get the quality of rejoin of the tendon as surgery would provide (natural healing may not line up the torn ends as well), somewhat higher incidence of reinjury (5-10% reinjury rate). But no risks of surgical side effects. I specifically asked Dr. Vitek about the prevalence of the ends simply not lining up and not reattaching at all; he said he'd never seen it. He only knew of one case where it had happened, and that was when a patient waited two months to come in for treatment.
I initially am leaning strongly to the immobilization treatment, as the idea of surgery freaks me out. (Never mind I've had four successful surgeries in the past, with nothing bad coming out of any of them. It still freaks me out.) So I now have a bright green cast* on my left leg, starting just below my knee and ending just before the first set of toe joints. It makes my foot point down, and I am supposed to keep all pressure off the bottom of my foot. No driving for me!**
However, after looking into net research, talking to my parents, and thinking more about the doctor's own recommendation for what he'd have done if he had a blown Achilles tendon, I still haven't entirely dismissed the idea of surgery. The idea still freaks me out, but the surgery is likely to have a more predictable, and usually better, result than letting it heal through immobilization.
* The nurse asked me what color cast I would like, as she was gathering the cast-making stuff. I answered "stripes of hot pink, chartreuse, and electric blue". She handed me a ring of cast-material swatches: black, white, purple, green, red, slate gray, sky blue, and I think yellow. I went with green. When I go to my followup appointment in three weeks, I will likely get re-casted in purple.
** No walking, no running, no swimming, no showers (the cast is not waterproof), and, most obviously, no volleyball. Right now I am getting a crash course in how to wear myself out with the crutches; with luck, I'll be less beat up by this time next week.
After much chasing around, I got two recommendations from friends for orthopedists. (Orthopedic surgeons? Same thing?) One does work on Achilles tendons, but didn't take my insurance. The other doesn't do Achilles tendons. However, there was another doctor in his office that did, so I made an appointment with him: Dr. Brantley Vitek. Dr. Vitek confirmed that the tendon is entirely severed. However, he told me there are two treatment options, surgery and immobilization.
Surgery: shorter recovery time (6 weeks estimated), usually a better rejoin of the tendon (because it's sewn together), less likely to re-rupture. However, it does carry the risks of surgery, such as reaction to drugs and possibility of infection.
Immobilization: longer recovery time (10 weeks estimated), less likely to get the quality of rejoin of the tendon as surgery would provide (natural healing may not line up the torn ends as well), somewhat higher incidence of reinjury (5-10% reinjury rate). But no risks of surgical side effects. I specifically asked Dr. Vitek about the prevalence of the ends simply not lining up and not reattaching at all; he said he'd never seen it. He only knew of one case where it had happened, and that was when a patient waited two months to come in for treatment.
I initially am leaning strongly to the immobilization treatment, as the idea of surgery freaks me out. (Never mind I've had four successful surgeries in the past, with nothing bad coming out of any of them. It still freaks me out.) So I now have a bright green cast* on my left leg, starting just below my knee and ending just before the first set of toe joints. It makes my foot point down, and I am supposed to keep all pressure off the bottom of my foot. No driving for me!**
However, after looking into net research, talking to my parents, and thinking more about the doctor's own recommendation for what he'd have done if he had a blown Achilles tendon, I still haven't entirely dismissed the idea of surgery. The idea still freaks me out, but the surgery is likely to have a more predictable, and usually better, result than letting it heal through immobilization.
* The nurse asked me what color cast I would like, as she was gathering the cast-making stuff. I answered "stripes of hot pink, chartreuse, and electric blue". She handed me a ring of cast-material swatches: black, white, purple, green, red, slate gray, sky blue, and I think yellow. I went with green. When I go to my followup appointment in three weeks, I will likely get re-casted in purple.
** No walking, no running, no swimming, no showers (the cast is not waterproof), and, most obviously, no volleyball. Right now I am getting a crash course in how to wear myself out with the crutches; with luck, I'll be less beat up by this time next week.
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no subject
Date: 2005-09-01 12:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-02 04:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-01 03:24 pm (UTC)I hope you can wrap the cast in a trash bag or something and get some sort of shower! No showers sucks ass.
Did the nurse give you 'The Look' when you made your cast request?
*more kitty snuggles*
no subject
Date: 2005-09-02 04:46 am (UTC)I've figured out bath logistics, so I can at least be no more smelly than is standard for a boy.
Did the nurse give you 'The Look' when you made your cast request?
No, but I think she did snicker and say "No, we can't do that. But look through these..."
no subject
Date: 2005-09-01 08:17 pm (UTC)Hang in there, you'll get through it and best of all once you get good with the crutches you can use them to smack other kids in the hall when the teachers aren't looking.
P.S. I'd have surgery too
no subject
Date: 2005-09-02 04:58 am (UTC)Now there's a benefit I hadn't thought of. Excellent!
I'd have surgery too
I'm leaning that way now.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-02 05:00 am (UTC)