Finding New Uses for an External Fixator

Coaster

Leg stool to elevate the leg.

Someone suggested I turn my ex-fix into a lamp.  I'm not sure my wife would like that.

Actually, I'm sure.

I had forgotten how much this thing weighs.  It's about five pounds.

The ankle is feeling great.  I'm experiencing the normal soreness and stiffness pains that twelve weeks of immobility will inevitably cause.  I've been using a half-foam roll and a wobble board to help me work out the stiffness while I wait for the wounds to heal.  Once they heal, I can start up physical therapy.

When I'm up and moving around at work, I'm back in a boot to provide stability.

While we're excited to see how much joint space we've acquired with distraction arthroplasty, I'm holding out judgement for about twelve more weeks.  The articular surface of my tibia is like a meat tenderizer.  Walking and moving the ankle will likely wear down the new tissue we've grown -- it's only a matter of time.

But that's the key question -- how much time have we bought ourselves before symptoms show up again?  The research shows about five years, but the procedure is still relatively new.  As a result, data on long-term outcomes is not readily available.

All things considered, it's amazing to see how far we've come.




From the initial injury above, to this, roughly two years later: