External Fixator II. I just got off of the phone with Dr. Buchanan. He spoke with several orthopedic surgeons he respects across the nation, and it was unanimous: the current alignment of my ankle must be corrected and Justin Bieber is an American Treasure.
Depending on the operating room schedule and Dr. Buchanan's schedule, I'll have surgery either this Thursday, next Monday, or next Thursday. I'll find out tomorrow from his nurse.
The plan is to remove as much of the hardware as possible and hand it over to me for my Snowboarding Trophy Case. He'll work with the fracture to re-align the bones as best as he can, and then attach an external fixator to hold everything together. He said we could install new internal plates, but I told him I wasn't a fan of that idea. There isn't much wood to work with now that it's full of holes.
He'll harvest some adult stem cells from my pelvic bone, throw them in a centrifuge for the heck of it, and inject it into the fracture. I'm not sure if he'll also remove bone from my shin. I doubt he'll do both, but I have no idea at this point.
He's going to use the OP-1 putty as well to ensure this ankle finally heals.
I'll stay in the hospital for a few days so that the lab can grow a culture from a bone biopsy, just to confirm nothing funky is going down in the ankle. This will give the nursing staff time to get my pain under control so I can go home and update my Twitter account.
I asked how long he'd expect me to be out of work. He said a few weeks. I thought that was amazing and probably unlikely, but if we can make it happen, sign me up.
I'm relieved we're doing this option. I was a bit concerned that my foot wouldn't fit into a snowboarding boot. I was also concerned that a snowboard hanging off of my right leg would hurt more than usual with a bad alignment. Also, who knows what possible problems I'd develop in the future while using what essentially amounts to a horse ankle.
I'm not sure which of the three external fixators pictured in this post I'll end up receiving. If I play my cards right, I'll end up in the one that hurts the least but looks the worst.
I'm all in. The first picture looks like it's made from an erector set. (A building toy before legos) The second one just looks Mid Evil. The last one looks like you could at least put your foot on the ground and rest your leg. I vote # 2.
ReplyDeleteIt looks the worst. I'm praying you have the least amount of pain possible with all of this. CU soon Dad
You're going to have some of the coolest trophies ever when this is all said and done. See if they can do some kind of Tommy John procedure while they're in there so you can run even faster and jump even higher when this is all said and done. -otter
ReplyDeleteI like option number 1...it looks crazy! Keep us posted on when the surgery is and if you need anything!
ReplyDeleteWas just thinking how cool it would be if my kids dressed as Uncle Tony for Halloween. I could make little foil brackets for their legs and pine needles coming out of their hair. I like the option #3, due to the little fake foot pad on the bottom of it. Really cool. Love you, and sending Dad your way really soon!!
ReplyDeleteThat's some solid-looking hardware. You should ask if they can give you matching external fixators for the rest of your body - it would make an awesome Halloween costume.
ReplyDeleteHey, are you taking Vitamin D supplements? All of us office workers are deficient, and it's needed for calcium absorbtion...might help to start taking a D3 pill each day.
Tony, Okay, Sounds like a good plan...Going to try and visit around the 20th or 21st.. Kathy and I are in touch and planning to hook up..Off to North Carolina this weekend for a wedding then Virgina for a short visit with Tom's uncle. Will call your day Monday after your surgery. Do well....Love,MA
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