His post op course is rest, rest, rest. With the foot at rest, the scar tissue will not form. He has his patients on 1 wk bed rest with the next 2 weeks non-weight bearing and preferrably, in bed, foot elevated, and iced most of the time. At 3 weeks the stitches come out and limited weight bearing, also physical therapy. The PT consisists of stretching, strengthening and cross incisional massage to keep the scar free moving and not tying down any nerves. At 6 weeks the cam boot came off and the tennis shoe on. Several days later I was able to put the orthotic back in the shoe. At almost 8 wks, I have no pain. My ankle is still a little weak, but getting better every day.

As for my experience being an exception, I would have to say that my recovery was expected by my doctor. He gets very good results. I know of several other patients who followed his oders to the letter and have had excellent results. I had almost no pain post-op so it was hard not to put weight on the foot. If it had hurt, it would have been easier. But you have to remember, that your foot didn't get that bad overnight, so don't expect it to heal overnight.

When deciding which way to go, the quick way looked pretty good. But I couldn't find anyone who had good results. Quicker isn't always better. I'm glad I chose the conventional. I would do it again in a heart beat. Chose your surgeon well. It doesn't matter what kind, an orthopeadist, or podiatrist, just be sure they are specialists in this type of surgery. And don't be too anxious to be healed.