Foot surgery

[Mrs F]

Hi. I've been diabetic for 20+ years. After having foot problems, charcot. Foot and ulcers, I'm having surgery soon to remove a piece of bone, lengthen the Achilles' tendon and straightening a toe. Has anyone had a similar procedure as I'd like to know how long My hospital stay might be. Thanks, Mrs F.

 

[Robinredbreast]

Hello Mrs F and welcome to the forum. So sorry to hear of your on going foot problems and your up and coming surgery.
Are you type 1 or 2 and what medications are you taking? I know that operations can elevate the blood glucose quite a bit.
Take care and with best wishes.

 

[Mrs F]

Type 2. Metformin and Humulog insulin.

 

[Flowerpot]

Hello Mrs F

I've had surgery to fuse my ankle as I have a Charcot foot and I've also had a few operations to put my toes back into their sockets as the Charcot pulled them out. My last operation was 6 months ago to plate a metatarsal fracture, remove a piece of bone and wire one of my toes back into place. I went into hospital on the morning of the operation and had a sliding scale during the anaesthetic which they kept running afterwards as I was sick. I was only in for 2 nights and then sent home. As long as you feel alright and your blood sugars are stable then they usually get you to walk with the physios and do the stairs the next day and then send you home either later that day or the next day.

Presumably you will be in a non weight bearing plaster cast for a period of time? If you are, take extra care to ensure that the plaster is comfortable and not rubbing on any parts of your foot. I wish you all the best with it, Charcot foot is a horrible complication. Good luck.

 

[Mrs F]

Hi Flowerpot,

Thank you so much for your message, it's reassuring to hear from you as I hadn't even heard of Charcot before this year and had to Google it! I've been in a contact plaster cast with a Bohler walking iron for quite a bit of this year so far. Did you have a general anaesthetic? I had a spinal one to excavate the extensive ulcer I had and was considering opting for this next time if possible as it's less likely to send sugar levels awry. I see that you're type 1 but I'm a good example of how not to manage type 2 when it's diagnosed! You can't help being diabetic but mine's self inflicted I guess and at the time, even though I was made aware of the implications of poor control, did an impression of an ostrich till now I'm suffering the consequences! Thank you again for the message. My best wishes to you.

 

[Flowerpot]

Yes I had general anaesthetic, they wouldn't give me a spinal anaesthetic for certain reasons.

I think more emphasis needs to be put on complications however worrying and upsetting the knowledge may be. I had never heard of Charcot foot either until 15 years ago when my foot and ankle joint collapsed out of the blue, there was no Google and internet back then so I was really shocked by what had happened. It is luckily, unluckily for us, one of the less common complications although devastating. I have been in and out of casts and aircast boots for the past 15 years but keep re -fracturing. On the bright side (if there is one) , you are already well aware of the problems of looking after your feet in casts and probably accomplished with using crutches too.