Quote from: Nerdz92 on April 24, 2016, 06:37:54 PMThanks for sharing your story. There must have been so much that happened during your time there. I know you were only able to share a few things. It seems like you have so much stuff that went south even though you appeared to be a healthy, fit guy. This is a low blow for me, especially for my own confidence. However, you are right in saying that no two person will have the same experience.
Your very welcome, Nerdz.
And Hell, I haven't even started to touch on the FUBAR crapfest that occurred after the "Wizard" (manager) shut down the guest house!
But you get it: I wouldn't take my story as any indication of what may happen on your journey. Especially since you're currently...23? Remember, I was 39 when I had my frames installed. I don't know if your Dad or uncles or older friends have ever told you, but a LOT happens physiologically when you get into your late 30s. Look at the guys in pro sports, how the older vets are always on the DL or the IR. Maybe they can still perform at a very high level, but the recovery from injury, or even fatigue/exertion/soreness is usually more difficult.
Looking back, I'm sure I underestimated the recovery time when I was considering LL. Also, I really downplayed the ankle injury I had/have. None of the 3 docs seemed to think it would matter -- I recall Parihar and Sringari testing my flexibility (Sarin and I only spoke at the guest house) -- probably because I didn't walk with any limp or noticeable sign of the issue. And I have been to 3 different foot and ankle surgeons and they all said something a little different.
Another thing (which we may or not share) is that I had huge muscular legs...especially in the calves.
I have to ask my new ortho about this, but the small, skinny guys in our guest house seemed to heal up much faster...well, they were also 9-18 years younger than I was...and some about half of my weight.
So don't worry too much. Just work on your flexibility and your core strength (need to talk about this too), get your Vitamin D levels tested, and BE PREPARED for things (possibly) taking longer than you expect.
Good luck!
Bigfaker - External Tibs - Dr. Sringari/Dr. __ - "We're Off To Slap the Wizard!"
Quote from: ub40 on May 06, 2016, 12:28:22 PMBigfaker, did you have none union problems? And can you clarify about the ankle issues?
Quote from: Bigfaker on May 06, 2016, 10:30:26 PMHey ub,
25 months after frame removal, I still have non-union...well, my new ortho is calling it "partial non-union" of the anterior tibias. Because I got impatient with still using a crutch a year after frame removal, I was probably walking unaided too soon. My doc thinks it's possible one or more of the screws in the L nail is slightly dislodged. The rod itself seems OK. So the docs in India (in particular Sarin) were correct that the weakest link to worry about were not the nails, but the screws.
I can fully weight-bear on either leg. The tib/fib are pretty strong on the R side, but I have the ankle issue hampering it (more below). The L leg was muuuuuuuch slower to heal and is still weaker to this day. I used to have pain in the locking screw, but now the pain is just focused in the knee. I can fake a normal gait if I really concentrate, but usually it looks more like I'm limping. After a couple hard hours in the gym or doing martial arts, I can barely stand and resort back to the crutch when I get home.
Anyway, I was presented with 2 options to promote bone growth in my L leg: Masquelet graft or revision nailing. Because ortho thought the chances of success were about equal, I chose the latter because it's only one procedure instead of two. I just had my pre-anesthesia consult yesterday and my surgery is this Thursday the 12th.
The ankle issues were not really related to LL originally. They go WAAAAY back to a kickboxing injury in 2006. After that, I would supinate my R ankle (roll inward) about once a month, causing a mild to moderate sprain. I didn't have health insurance back then, so I never got around to having it checked out thoroughly until mid-2013, when I knew I would be starting my LL journey soon. The podiatrist/foot surgeon I saw that year said I had probably fractured something in there years ago, and I had bone fragments floating in there. I did some PT on it that year, but it didn't really improve much. I think I convinced myself everything was going to be OK. It was not really affecting me too badly: I could run and jump, I could kickbox, I could play basketball. None of the 3 docs in India seemed to think it would matter -- I recall Parihar and Sringari testing my flexibility (Sarin and I only spoke at the guest house) -- probably because I didn't walk with any limp (back then) or noticeable sign of the issue.
Fast-forward to 2015 and the ankle was still KILLING me post-lengthening. I was usually on one crutch at this time (to support the weak L leg), but too much exertion would put me back on two. By then, three different podiatrist/foot surgeons had given three different diagnoses. The first (in 2013) had said I "probably had fractured it long ago". A second (in 2014) said I had an"obviously fractured talus". A third, later that year, got a CT and MRI and said there was only soft tissue damage. He gave me a Cortisone injection in (I think) January of 2015. I had surgery with this third doc a couple months ago, on February 22nd. He said he could only debride dead scar tissue and cartilage and there were no bone fragments in that area (below the malleolus) he could remove.
Two months later, it feels a bit better, but not really noticeable. I went for a post-op check on Monday and he gave me a second cortisone injection. So the saga continues...
Stepping Back, Moving Forward
Well, despite all my best intentions, I can’t keep this going chronologically. Since I have a surgery tomorrow; henceforth, I’ll probably have to jump back and forth in time á la “Pulp Fiction” or “Lost” or even “Flash Forward” (for the 3 people who actually watched that show). My next surgery is in about 5 hours, with a 2-hour drive to get up to the hospital. I figure I’m gonna sleep off the anesthesia all day anyway, so I might as well stay and write…rather than try and get up at 5AM…aw Hell, there’s no way I would have gotten to sleep, anyhow.
I’ve mentioned here and there that my L tibia has a partial non-union. I got that diagnosis officially in early February, when I saw my new ortho. That was before my R ankle surgery, so I had a few weeks to decide between:
- Revision Nailing – the reaming out of the bone to place the new nail would hopefully stimulate bone growth. Plus, the doc could replace the old nail (whether or not it was damaged, but also lessening the chance of future damage) and screws (some may be bent/damaged as of now, as I probably walked without crutches before I should have)
- Masquelet Bone Graft – a pretty innovative technique in which they fill the cavity with antobiotic-infused cement. A biomembrane forms around the cement spacer. About 6 weeks later, ortho goes back in, removes the spacer, irrigates the biomembrane capsule, then fills it with bone autografted from my femur.
According to my surgeon, the chance of improvement through either option was about the same. Despite health insurance covering 80% of the cost, I was still pretty scared of how much these things could run me. I’m still paying off the copays of some of the MRIs, CT scans, and PT from the past couple years. But my doc said he didn’t think the full bill on either procedure would be more than $15000 or so…ironically, pretty close to what I paid for my original LL in India (the first 3 months, at least). So, with all medical factors being pretty equal, I asked him which one would be the most cost and time-effective, with the best chance for a quick recovery…not just from the surger(ies), but in getting back to walking again. He thought the revision nailing would work well, and I liked the idea of having just one procedure instead of two, six weeks apart.
As some of you may have seen on various posts, I had decided on the revision nailing a while ago. I went to a pre-surg anesthesia consultation last Thursday, something they call “PACE”. It’s really crazy and drastic, the difference between having surgery here in the US, as opposed to India. I remember guys arriving in Gurgaon and having their legs broken (within one day). Myself, it took a week for me to fully come to grips with my decision, but -– had I chosen to do so -- I actually could have followed suit. So anyway, I went over to the PACE office (it’s in a medical plaza…really kinduva mini-mall) in the neighborhood surrounding the hospitals. A nurse took all the common vitals, then an anesthesiologist (fairly young guy, likely a resident) met with me for about 30 minutes. He went over all the meds I’m currently taking, the procedure I’ll be having, then gave me all my pre-op warnings and instructions. 
I guess I just revealed where I’m doing this, huh? You know, I never really understood why some diaries would not list the docs, but now I do. I told my new ortho about the forums and am ever-so-slightly self-conscious about him possibly reading what I write about him. But he’s crazy busy, so I think it’s pretty unlikely…and I already told him I couldn’t promote him (or any doctor) anyway.
Anyway, where was I? So I had a bunch of blood drawn after the consultation, they even put on an ID anklet I've had to wear all week (I feel like a newborn infant). All this procedure, plus the written and explicit info really relieved me as I had not heard from my doc or the ortho department since my last consult…well, I thought I hadn’t. Turns out, they had sent me a packet in the mail. Either somebody in my house had not given it to me or it just got swallowed in the deluge of bills and junk I currently call Mail Mountain. Also, I had emailed my ortho my decision -- along with some of my old pics and x-rays – but I didn’t hear back from that, either. I guess he never saw that email, because he left me a voice mail Tuesday wondering which procedure I had chosen. I re-sent the email when I got home, left a voicemail with his surgery scheduler, then we finally connected yesterday afternoon when he called me.
So I guess there was a third option besides the two aforementioned: revision nailing with a regular (non-Masquelet) bone graft. I don’t really recall this being one of the options we discussed back in the consultations, but he had discussed my case with his partner (the LLRS board member) and some of his old colleagues at USC and this was the concensus. That was enough for me. Even though NewOrtho may not be an old hand at CLL, he’s done a lot of reconstructive work and he said non-union is one of his specialties.
Looking at the clock. 2:20 until I get my ride comes. 4:20 until surgery check-in….GULP
Quote from: pick on January 17, 2014, 11:23:20 PMHey BigFaker,
I really like how you write and you seem to see the lighter side of life.
But are you really like how you write in real life?
I can't imagine how someone with a sense of humour as you could get bothered about your height enough get LL.
I've always felt people who consider LL are shy short serious people.
Yes, I pride myself on being a pretty positive and very resilient person, but I was in a very cold and dark place in 2015. I was on crutches most of the year. My fiancée and I had split up the previous August. My (then)-ortho (not an LL specialist) really had no idea of how to help me. Even the Orthovisc lubricating injection I requesting (for my L knee) was getting denied by the f.ucking a$$holes at my sh!tty insurance company. Alone, crippled, depressed…with no clear path to a meaningful recovery. I had thoughts. Some BAD goddamn thoughts.
But the clouds have long-since parted. Though it may have been a little soon, I felt strong enough in the L leg to put away the crutches in November. I’ve been limping/hobbling (I call it “lobbling”) all over the place since…but I can look pretty normal when I concentrate…and if I’m not too tired. Had my ankle surgery in February and was in a cast for 2 weeks, then a walking boot for another 2. Though it did not improve it much, I’ve fully recovered from that surgery, at least. I spend a crazy amount of time in the gym. Not just doing my core/stability/balance exercises, but rebuilding the muscle that atrophied, and trying to cut the weight I gained after I got home and during the depression. And tomorrow…actually today…really, a couple hours from now…comes a brand new day. A little nervous, but just excited to start making significant progress again…to get that much closer to walking normally again.
Even though I don’t have NEARLY the same concerns, worries, fears as I did the first time an orthopedic surgeon was about to ream out my tibia, then hammer and screw a titanium rod into the medullary cavity, I still hear an old song I wrote (back in Gurgaon) ringing in my head:
F.uck F.uck F.uck F.uck ICAN'TBELIEVEI'MDOINGTHIS F.uck F.uck F.uck F.uck ICAN'TBELIEVEI'MDOINGTHIS F.uck F.uck F.uck F.uck ICAN'TBELIEVEI'MDOINGTHIS F.uck F.uck F.uck F.uck ICAN'TBELIEVEI'MDOINGTHIS F.uck F.uck F.uck F.uck ICAN'TBELIEVEI'MDOINGTHIS F.uck F.uck F.uck F.uck ICAN'TBELIEVEI'MDOINGTHIS F.uck F.uck F.uck F.uck ICAN'TBELIEVEI'MDOINGTHIS F.uck F.uck F.uck F.uck ICAN'TBELIEVEI'MDOINGTHIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Quote Of The Week
The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.
― J.P. Morgan
Hey big,
Thanks for the update. How is the new nail feeling like compared to the old? And by when do you think you will be able to see evident regeneration.
Quote from: TrueSpartan on May 20, 2016, 06:24:17 PMHey big,
Thanks for the update. How is the new nail feeling like compared to the old? And by when do you think you will be able to see evident regeneration.
Yeah, I’m doing really well, Spartan. Thanks. The new nail feels really good! The only pain I have right now is skin/soft tissue irritation mid-tibia where the locking screw was removed.
I already started walking (with partial weight, in the Alter-G treadmill) on Monday and have done so three times this week. Been to the gym a bunch of times as well, but only doing upper body stuff...well...some single leg rowing, too. I have veeeery lightly and gingerly stepped around the house without crutches, but I don't go very far, just moving between furniture and counters.
Not sure when I will see growth. Between the graft, the reaming for the new nail, and the crapload of Vitamin D I'm taking, I'm hope SOME-thing kicks it in gear! I had asked the doc in my consultation when I could have the nails removed and he thinks a year is definitely possible.
More details later...
How many CM did you do?
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