Ankle and foot

@gcourt Welcome to Connect. I wanted to let you know that this is a patient support group discussion forum where we learn by shared experiences. This forum is not staffed by Mayo professionals, and no one here may give you a diagnosis, but we can discuss health conditions and you may find some answers to questions about health conditions. I am a Mayo patient and had surgery a couple of years ago for a badly broken ankle with an orthopedic trauma surgeon in Rochester. I have also done a lot of PT and rehab during my recovery from the fracture.

What questions did you have about the foot and ankle? Are you looking to seek care at Mayo from a specialist for your ankle?

I sprained my left ankle many years ago, where the tendons and ligaments were torn loose from the outside of the ankle. This took away much of the support. I had surgery done on it, but they used screws to try to reattach the damaged parts. Those screws either broke off or started to come back out. Another surgery was needed to remove the screws. I am now wearing a plastic brace all day. I would like to know if there is any way of repairing my ankle and still having the flexibility in the joint.

My husband has such serious pronation that he is practically walking on his ankle bone. Painful and inhibiting. Anything to be done? “Inserts” are useless.

@pp27va Thank you for the information. If you wanted to request an appointment at Mayo in Rochester, I can suggest an orthopedic trauma surgeon who may be able to help. I saw him as a patient to put my ankle back together after a bad compound fracture. He also takes cases where bones can be straightened, realigned and lengthened and also improving severe bone deformities to a more normal function, such as severely bowed legs when a patient cannot walk normally.

His name is Andy Sems and here is his profile.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/biographies/sems-stephen-andy-a-m-d/bio-20054747
You may use this link to request an appointment for any of the Mayo Campuses, and he is in Rochester.
http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63
Here is information about Dr. Sems at the Mayo Clinic Limb lengthening and Regeneration Clinic.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/medical-professionals/orthopedic-surgery/news/multidisciplinary-and-coordinated-approach-to-limb-lengthening-care/mac-20508158
I also found this alumni news story that gives some of his background.
https://www.gcc.edu/Home/News-Archive/News-Article/accomplished-alum-dr-andy-sems-95-to-speak-at-graduation
My elderly mom has a foot deformity, and after fracturing a bone in the foot, everything tightened up to where she couldn't walk because her foot was in a position as if she pointed her toes and twisted the ankle at the same time. A surgeon lengthened the Achilles's tendon, and also moved some muscle attachments on the bottom of the foot. It improved her situation, but didn't make her feet completely normal again. She still had the deformity from bunions and toes turned toward the pinky side, but at least she could stand on her foot again, and walk better. Because she is at risk for falling and has osteoporosis, she uses a wheelchair anyway. (This was done locally and not at Mayo.)

Has your husbands pronation gotten progressively worse? Do you think he will want to improve his walking function if surgery is required?

Thank you, Jennifer! Cheers, Cabell

@pp27va You are very welcome. If you see Dr. Sems, I think you will like him. He is an excellent surgeon and was recommended to me by another surgeon at Mayo. (I had spine surgery at Mayo, and after I broke my ankle, I asked my neurosurgeon for a recommendation.) I also wanted to let you know for your own security, it's best not to share any personal information on a public post. You can use private messages. If you are unable to edit your post (by clicking on the 3 dots at the bottom right), I can ask the moderators to remove your information.

Jennifer

@pp27va you'll notice that we removed your email address. As @jenniferhunter mentioned, Connect is a public forum. We recommend sharing personal contact information using the secure private message function.