After accidents or trauma to your ankle, you can end up with damaged ligaments, broken bones, and soft tissue injuries. With time and rehabilitation, many ankle injuries heal under conservative care, but sometimes, this treatment isn’t enough.
When your ankle isn’t healing after trauma, Thomas Rambacher, DPM, FACFAS, FAPWCA, the lead podiatrist at Podiatry Hotline Foot & Ankle Mission Viejo, California, can perform reconstructive surgery to heal and restore the ankle fully. Here’s what you need to know about post-traumatic reconstructive surgery of the ankle.
Reconstructive ankle surgeries restore structural issues in your ankle. A reconstructive procedure can reset bones, lengthen ligaments, fuse joints, and generally give your foot more stability.
Dr. Rambacher only recommends reconstructive surgery when the damage to your feet is serious enough that less invasive, more conservative treatments won’t get results. Whenever possible, he uses minimally invasive surgery to shorten your recovery time and lower the risk of complications from the procedures.
After an ankle fracture or severe strain, your body uses its self-healing capabilities to close the break or restore ligaments. Your body does this independently, but sometimes, this process goes wrong, especially when you’ve had a severe break or strain.
On some occasions, your body heals bones or ligaments improperly, meaning your bones no longer line up correctly, or your tendons are overly loose or misaligned. This results in several problems, including:
These problems can limit your ability to move around and make it harder to participate in athletics and other activities you enjoy. Without surgery, you might have to reduce your activities permanently.
During ankle reconstructive surgery, Dr. Rambacher makes the changes necessary in your foot’s alignment to allow your ankle to restore itself and heal properly. Once your healing is complete after surgery, your ankle feels as good as new and allows you full movement and activity again.
Ankle reconstructive surgery might be right for you if you have an old ankle injury that didn’t heal properly or a current injury that isn’t responding to other forms of treatment. Make an appointment for a consultation at Podiatry Hotline Foot & Ankle if you previously had trauma to your ankle and it continues to feel unstable, painful, or doesn’t look right after healing is complete.
If you have a more recent ankle injury and Dr. Rambacher is monitoring your recovery from ankle trauma, he carefully evaluates your healing at every appointment to see if your bones and ligaments are healing as they should. Before suggesting surgery, he tries treatments like custom orthotics, braces, and wearing different or special shoes.
When conservative treatments don’t allow this to happen, he might recommend reconstructive surgery on your ankle as the next step.
Reconstructive surgery on your ankle can feel like a major step, but under Dr. Rambacher’s capable hands, you can be assured you’ll fully recover and feel better after the procedure. To find out more about reconstruction of the ankle and discuss your personal situation, contact us today.
