Hi everyone sorry for the long absence since my last update. It's been exactly 5 months post my tibia surgery. I ended up stopping at 5.6cm and with the straightening of my bowed legs adding about another .5cm I think the total is probably just a little past 6cm.
Tibia recovery has been tough, I've have had alot of pain and still a little but it's getting better day by day. Both legs were very tight by the end of lengthening in that whenever I was standing and then had to lift either leg to start a walking movement, there was an extreme sharp pain. It was odd because in the left leg the pain was behind the knee while in the right leg it was in front. I also had alot of knee pain whenever I stood up or sat down. Thankfully all these issues have improved tremendously starting from the 4th month til now. I think it was due to my soft tissues already being tight from the previous femur lengthening and then them getting stretched again. My gait is pretty good now but my walk is still not back to normal speed as there is still a little pain at the top of the tibia but again it's improving daily. I didn't have any issues with my dorsiflexion, so did not develop ballerina foot.
All in all, while my tibia recovery w/ STRYDE has definitely been more painful than my femur recovery w/ PRECISE, my gait and walk at the 5 month mark now is better than my 5 month post femur surgery. Just have to continue to push on.
You can find my xrays here. There is a bit more bone formation on my right leg which makes sense since it's been the stronger leg day one so I've been using it more and stressing it more.
https://imgur.com/a/9ScAIbm
SLM Stryde Internal Tibia with Dr. Rozbruch March 2019
Awesome diary. Any updates?
Awesome diary. Any updates?
How are you doing, SLM?
SLM, can you do your physical therapy in HSS if you want? Do they have AlterG or indoor pool?
Quote from: ShortLivesMatter on June 01, 2019, 12:23:58 PMNever had to, which is odd since Paley has his patients wear them.
Day 80 - I finished my lengthening last night at 5.3cm. I could have gone on but decided to stop here as I didn't want to do too much in tibia and my tibia/femur ratio is now at a good 80%. I am obviously pretty tight but fortunately did not develop ballerina foot. I credit this to STRYDE and the ability to weight bear allowing me to stand/walk which helps against it. My dorisflexion is 10 degrees on my left foot and 5 on my right. I do have a little knee contracture, hopefully with continued PT I will be able to regain full knee extension soon.
There is no pain while sitting/laying or just standing but there is while I'm walking, probably due to overuse of legs when they have not consolidated yet. My walk is not normal as due to that pain, I try to minimize the ROM so my legs don't get lifted off the ground as much as a normal gait. Anyway I'm walking around with a cane now outside the house, which helps me walk faster than w/o it as it provides balance.
Hopefully it won't take too long to consolidate, I know tibia healing is slow but should be quicker with STRYDE . Nothing much between now and the next 4 weeks when I'll get my latest xrays done. I'll post a copy of them when I do.
Thanks, Short Lives Matter!
1. Alot of people are worried about knee pain by going internal tibias. What are your thoughts on this and what did Dr. R say about this?
2. The few weeks, do you need a caretaker to help you go to the bathroom? I'm really worried about someday doing this surgery and slipping / falling when going to the bathroom. I'm considering trying to find a place with holding bars by the toilet to help or maybe sticking to using wipes to clean myself.
3. What is your advice for reducing the risk of injury when going to the bathroom after the caretaker is gone?
For other things I was thinking maybe having a microwave at a height I can reach when standing or sitting at a chair something. Not sure.
Quote from: ShortLivesMatter on June 01, 2019, 12:23:58 PMNever had to, which is odd since Paley has his patients wear them.
Day 80 - I finished my lengthening last night at 5.3cm. I could have gone on but decided to stop here as I didn't want to do too much in tibia and my tibia/femur ratio is now at a good 80%. I am obviously pretty tight but fortunately did not develop ballerina foot. I credit this to STRYDE and the ability to weight bear allowing me to stand/walk which helps against it. My dorisflexion is 10 degrees on my left foot and 5 on my right. I do have a little knee contracture, hopefully with continued PT I will be able to regain full knee extension soon.
There is no pain while sitting/laying or just standing but there is while I'm walking, probably due to overuse of legs when they have not consolidated yet. My walk is not normal as due to that pain, I try to minimize the ROM so my legs don't get lifted off the ground as much as a normal gait. Anyway I'm walking around with a cane now outside the house, which helps me walk faster than w/o it as it provides balance.
Hopefully it won't take too long to consolidate, I know tibia healing is slow but should be quicker with STRYDE . Nothing much between now and the next 4 weeks when I'll get my latest xrays done. I'll post a copy of them when I do.
Wow so you managed to hit +5cm whilst not wearing the splints?! That’s really good! Im trying to figure out how important wearing the splints are since im doing tibias rn, almost at week 4. What do u think
Hey all, it's been awhile since my last update. It's a little over 7 months post op now. Life is truly getting back to normal now, almost. My walk is fine, no hip sway, no duck ass, just a tiny bit slower than normal, I can pick up the pace but it takes a little effort. But it's good enough that nobody notices anything.
Going up the stairs is no problem but I still need to hold onto the railing when going down and even then it is slow and does not look natural. This is due to reduced ankle dorsiflexion from the tibia lengthening. The ankles are still tight, it's improving but very slowly.
After 2 LLs I am at 5'6 now, still below average but it's not a big deal to me anymore. I am content. Whenever out in public I am no longer conscious about my height, I am finally at peace and that is the greatest thing you can achieve with this surgery.
@MyEvolution my total tibia lengthening is probably a little over 6cm as I actually lengthened 5.6cm and there's about an additional .5cm that I gained from my bowed legs being straightened during the LL surgery. I was not required to wear splints probably due to Dr. R doing a fascia release to allow me to be more loose. It's similar to an IT band release for femur. I never showed any symptoms of drop foot. I think you probably have to tough it out and wear them if you are aiming for a lot of tibia lengthening.
@CodyTheDog yeah I had knee pain post surgery and during lengthening when getting up or bending but it's completely gone now. However it still hurts when I kneel on both knees but it's getting better. I think this too will be gone someday. I never needed a caretaker to go to the bathroom even right after the surgery as I used the walker which really helps in allowing you to get on/off the toilet. Just have the walker infront of the toilet so you can grab it and push off to get up or sit down, you will be fine.
@Michael01 I never did PT with HSS as I did not live in the area so can't answer your question.
One more thing, the height difference is indeed enormous. Pretty much everyone has noticed the 5inch change, there is no denying or hiding it. My legs look really long compared to my torso. My arms now look a little bit short. I don't think it's really noticeable unless it is pointed out.
It's good to see you are getting better. Please, don't forget to update us when you have full consolidation and when you take the 4 nails out. And about any improvement you may feel.
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