Rod removal operation

Ahh,,I was in an out of the hospital this morning so the Doc could remove the external fixator that was keeping my ankle and leg in a fixed position over the past 6 weeks. This was to allow the ankle reconstruction to properly heal. 

The operation took 10 minutes! They gave me a partial knock out so I was home less than 2 hours after the procedure. 

Now its one week until I see the Doc again when she will put me in a boot or a hard cast. Dont matter to me. She said I will be able to put weight on the leg in as little as 4 weeks from now but its a game time decision she will make at the weekly appointments. 

Before, with external fixator, ie rods

After.

My right calf muscle, or what's left of it, is able to move while it rests in a open splint. This allows me to flex the muscle and begin the process of rebuilding the muscle. I was not able to flex the calf muscle until about a 2 weeks ago because the external fixator interfered too much with muscle movement and thus caused great pain. At least now I can get the muscle moving a little bit, which is better than none. 


My foot is another story. The skin is falling off as if I were molting like a snake. Since I couldn't wash it in the shower that dead skin has been building up and is coming off in layers. This sounds nasty but it gave me something to do when the rods were installed. You can only read, watch TV, lift kettlebells and write stuff for so long you know.  However, it gave me physical relief as the layers of dead skin were inhibiting my tactile sense in the foot and the ability to move my toes. That is how much dead skin was accumulating. I cant wait to see how nasty the foot is after I get it out of the cast.