My Plantar Fasciitis Surgery Experience

My Plantar Fasciitis Surgery Experience

PLANT-TAR-FASH-EEE-EYE-TIS

Read about what led to this surgery HERE
  
This is the surgery that I describe below

     LEFT PERCUTANEOUS PLANTAR FASCIECTOMY

     Try to say that five time quickly.
     Basically, the surgeon told me they make a small slit in the skin and then use a needle type tool and suction out the Plantar tendon scar tissue.

     As I explained in my previous post about my long standing Plantar Fasciitis and what I did to try and cure it, at some point you throw up your hands and go to the next step...SURGERY...! 

     I know...SCARY SHIT! But all the stuff I bought and all the treatments and all the physical therapy and all the cortisone shots and all the icing and stretching did not work. So when I finally went to an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in ankles and feet and he told me about this relatively new surgery that cures a high percentage of people, I decided to try it. 

     Oh the cost factor! Did I mention that I have an HSA with a very high deductible and I hardly scratched the surface of the out of pocket total before Cigna would pay a dime? More on that later.

     After you make the decision to have the surgery, the doctor has you get an MRI just to make sure that surgery is the right thing to do. I sat down with a business manager at his office and she had a list of places where I could get the MRI done. Since I have an HSA, I asked if there was a place where I could save money. She said one place would do it for $350 cash so I called and made an appointment. 

     The MRI was at 6:30 AM. Do you believe that? I got there and the first order of business was the payment. After that was finished, I was taken to a private dressing room and was told to take off everything but my underwear and put on one of those hospital gowns that are open in the back. 

     Have you ever tried to tie a bow behind your back...TWICE? Not happening with this guy. I got one but couldn't get the other. The girl who walked me back did the other one. We went into the room where the big machine is and it was around 60 degrees or colder. BRRRRRR! She apologized for the cold, handed me some ear plugs and covered me with a blanket. 30 minutes later after at least six rounds of banging it was done. 

     I went back into the private room and got dressed. After a short wait, the girl that did my MRI handed me a CD and told me to deliver it to the doctor. 

     I then had to fill out paperwork to submit the cost of the MRI to Cigna so at least it would be included in my deductible. What a pain! I have forgotten how much of a pain it is to fill out your own insurance claims. Not only that but you had to get two different insurance codes that should have been included on the receipt for the MRI; they weren't. The doctor's office gave me one code and a term. I included that in my paperwork sent to Cigna but they rejected it and now I have to resubmit the claim and find out both codes. 

     One place that was on the ball with this whole thing was the hospital. They called me a week before the surgery and told me to stop taking all the supplements and vitamins until after the surgery. That means no aspirin, ibuprofen, etc. even if you get a headache. They said they would call the day before with the time of my surgery.

     The day before, they called me with the time to be at the hospital. I arrived bright and early and they whisked me into a pre-op room. That's when the whirlwind started. 

     I was told to go into the bathroom and urinate. Hmmm, I was already dehydrated and took a pee before coming to the hospital but I gave it the old yeoman's try. By golly, I finally was able to go a little. 

     Then I had to take off ALL my clothes and put on another one of those open in the back hospital gowns. There was a curtain that they closed to my room to give me a little privacy. Then I was to lay down and clean off my foot with these special cleaning pads. After I laid down, there was a little knock and four nurses walked in. Each one had a job. One asked a ton of questions, one put EKG pads on my chest, one started an IV and the last one busied herself with getting all the surgical stuff ready. At the same time, the anesthesiologist walked in and began to tell me what he was going to be doing. His name was Dr. House. All my wife and I were thinking about was the show House and also the 3 Stooges show when they were dressed up as doctors..."Calling Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. House...Calling Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. House...LOL

     While he was talking to me, I felt like the IV nurse was having an issue starting the IV. Did I mention no food or drink after 10 PM the night before? Well she was poking and moving my whole arm so much that I had to tell the anesthesiologist that I couldn't concentrate on him while she was doing that. He said no problem and that he would be back.

     One thing I left out. They asked me what foot was being operated on and then they put the hospital bracelet on the other side wrist. That bracelet was scanned many times by multiple people.

     The head nurse shooed everyone out and told me she would insert the IV. They first poke you with a numbing agent and then they go for the IV insertion. She went into a different spot on my wrist and got it started and hung a saline bag. 

3 Misses

Bruise from the misses

IV location that worked

     It was at that time that I began to evaluate what little I heard the anesthesiologist say and all of a sudden I remembered him saying "insert a breathing tube" and that they were going to give me a general meaning I would be completely out. It was at that time that I remembered I have a paralyzed vocal cord. It happened 25 years ago (different story) and is still paralyzed today. I told that to the nurse and she whipped out her phone and called the anesthesiologist. 

     He came right in and I explained about my vocal cord. He said they had a different breathing tube that they could try that only goes as far as the vocal cords. He would try that first but if there were any issues, he would have to use the other breathing tube.

     About this time, they called my wife in from the waiting room so she could be with me until I was wheeled out for surgery. So now I'm hooked to all these machines, I have an IV in me, monitors are beeping and displaying blood pressure, pulse, heart health, etc. 

     Finally my surgeon came in and told me what he was going to do again. He confirmed with foot and took out a magic marker and put his initials on my leg above the foot. He then left and said it would be soon.

     Another nurse walked in and said she was a nurse anesthetist. She proceeded to open a HUGE syringe and prep it with something. At the same time more nurses walked in with a gurney and they had me scoot over onto it. 

     It's at this point where things get fuzzy. I vaguely seem to remember the operating room with it's lights and all this equipment and then the next thing I remember is waking up and hearing two nurses talking. I said something and one of them shoved oxygen tubes in my nose and asked me some questions. After a short time she pulled the tubes out of my nose. I can't be sure but I think I was awake and they weren't in long. 

     They asked me my pain level (I felt nothing!) and then brought my wife in. All there was on my foot was a small bandage on the side. Also, on both of my shins, they had these inflatable bandages that went from my ankle to my knees. They would alternately inflate from the bottom to the top. I believe those were to help stop blood clots from forming and to keep my circulation going. 

     Also, a blood pressure cuff kept inflating and taking my blood pressure. It seemed like every two or three minutes it would inflate and take my BP again. At some point after I'd say 45 minutes, they were satisfied that I was OK so they began unhooking everything from my body.

     They gave me a red folder with instructions about what to do after I got home and then a nurse helped me get dressed. Awkward. At this point, I think I still had my gown on and was covered with a blanket. I was able to get my shirt on but there was no way to reach down to get my underwear and pants on. I asked the nurse if she could help. "Sure!" she said and she grabbed my underwear and started them onto my legs. Then she grabbed my warm-up pants and started them onto my legs. At that point I could reach them so I took it from there... Finally she put on my socks.

      

     My wife broke her foot a couple years ago and she still had the boot. While she was getting her car, another nurse helped me get the boot on. My instructions said I could put full weight on it right away but I was to wear the boot for up to two weeks. 

     There is a side story about the boot. When my wife had it on, she went to visit a friend who has a 4 year old daughter. The little girl saw the boot and said "You have a boo boo!!!" She then ran and got a Hello Kitty band aid and put it on the boot. To this day it is still on the boot and I was told I could use the boot on one condition; The Hello Kitty band aid stays on it!

     While she went to get the car, another person brought in a wheel chair to wheel me out. I sat up on the bed and made sure I wasn't light headed and then stood up and limped to the wheel chair. I'm tall and the wheel chair was very low. I don't think they locked the wheels because when I sat down the chair moved backwards and I heard them say "Whoa!!!!".  They wheeled me out, I got in the car and we went to pick up the pain pill prescription and then went home. 

Recovery and Side Effects

     One thing that I noticed right away was a loud ringing in my right ear along with the feeling that my hearing in that ear was cut in half.

     The other thing I noticed was that I was in a fog from the general as well as the pain pills.

     There was also one other thing in the instructions that caught my eye. It said I could take a certain brand of laxative to help things get going again. I am Mr. Regular so I kind of poo pooed it. Let me tell you, something from either the general or the pain pills really BACKS YOU UP!!! Mr. Regular became "Will it happen today?". LOL When it finally did happen, OMG but that it TMI for a G-Rated blog!

     Another side effect was a large itchy rash that developed just above the incision. I'm still dealing with that 7 days after surgery but it's getting better. I'm alternating putting Gold Bond powder on it and coating it with Bag Balm. I think wearing the boot pretty much 24 x 7 stopped air from getting to it and the rash developed. My sister thought it was a staph infection but the jury is still out on it.

     

Ugly Itchy Rash

Another view of the rash

     I pretty much slept the rest of the day and took a pain pill every 4 hours. That was Wednesday the 15th. I worked from home on Thursday and continued with the pain pills. On Friday I felt like I could make it to work so I gave it a try. I took my last pain pill at 7 AM on the 17th. At lunch as I was eating on Friday, all of a sudden it felt weird swallowing. At that point I decided to stop taking the OPIOID pain pills. It literally took until at least Sunday the 19th until I began to feel like all the poisons inside of me were finally gone. 

     Also on Sunday, I came down with a cold. So now I had surgery, was stressed out about it, got run down, was trying to get OPIOIDs out of my system and I come down with a cold. Oh well. That's life!

     Speaking of OPIOIDs, I really don't understand why anyone would want to be on these pills. You feel like you are in a fog, they don't really make you trip, I think they affect your functioning for sure as well. I guess some people like to be in a fog; Me? I prefer clear skies, sunny side up and the dirty side down.

     I go back to the surgeon on the 28th for a checkup. I can't tell for sure if this surgery helped or not. He said it can take up to a month for the healing to finish. 

     So that is my story. It is a little long winded but some of you might have this surgery or know someone who is having it and maybe my descriptions will help you or them.

     Feel free to comment if you like.

     Peace!

My Experience with Plantar Fasciitis (FASH-EEE-EYE-TIS)

Plantar Fasciitis (Heel Pain)

OUCHY!!!!!

     Over 10 years ago, I experienced heel pain on my right foot. I went to a Podiatrist (Dr. Cornfield!!! I kid you not!). He did ultrasound treatments on the foot and made me a set of custom orthotics. They make them by making a mold of your feet with plaster cloth in the form of a slipper. After the "slippers" cure, they pull them off and send them to a lab that makes your custom orthotics.

     With the treatments and the orthotics, I got over my pain. Of course I was 10 years younger.

     In the Fall of 2015, I began to experience heel pain in the right foot. This time I went to a different Podiatrist and after a lot of appointments (they are like Chiropractors in that they want to see you often), he too recommended that he make me custom orthotics. "Oh they have changed over the years. Yours are old so I think you should get new ones made." Again the "slippers" were made and delivered. This time they were full length. My previous ones were half length. He also kept saying "You should get the shot. That will fix the issue." The shot is Cortisone. I didn't opt for that.

     I wore them in my shoes and around January the pain went away.

     In August of 2016, I was sent to Portland, Oregon on business for a week. I wasn't expecting to walk the 4 to 8 miles a day that I did while I was there. They told me the people are health conscious and they walk everywhere.  The pain returned.

     In September I decided to give Dr. Cornfield another try. Boy, did he ever age in 10 years! Same voice; different body! And the price had gone up to $80 per visit and more depending on what he did.

     I brought in all my orthotics to show him. I pulled out of my bag the old customs he had made, the new customs the other Podiatrist made and all the other ones I bought at department stores trying anything to get the pain to go away. The green pair (10+ years old), grey pair (1+ years old) and brown pair (January 2017) are the custom orthotics that were made for me by the podiatrist.

Custom Orthotics and Heel That Pain inserts

     At some point, I searched Google and found a nice video about how this one fellow solved his heel pain by doing several things including running and wearing barefoot running shoes but he swore that his Arizona Birkenstocks really helped his heel pain. I ordered a pair on line. The first pair didn't fit so I returned them and ordered a different size. They didn't fit so I returned them and

ordered a third pair and this pair fit. The pictures are before break in. They actually fit better now after adjusting the straps. An added side effect of wearing them is that everyone who sees them knows they are Birkenstocks AND they ask where your tie die shirt is. LOL

Before proper strap tightening

Before proper strap tightening

After Break In

     After continuous appointments and him telling me to stretch often, he finally said I needed physical therapy. He gave me a prescription and I started PT. At first they see you 3 times a week and then 2 times a week. While there, they have you do a lot of balancing exercises and all kinds of stretching. Most of the time you are on your own and they sort of monitor you. On some visits, they apply a lotion and use a special metal tool to "stretch" your calf muscles and then they use it on the bottom of your foot to stretch your Plantar tendons. You use these rubber bands to stretch out your feet a lot.

Physical Therapy Exercise Straps

     After a month with not much improvement, I asked for another month and continued going all the way into December. 

     I also began to do more research on the web. I found a guy named Brett who was into natural health and made wood products used for Plantar Fasciitis. I ordered his "foot friend" and his "foot massager". Brett is really into high quality wood products as well as eco-friendly shipping. Let me tell you, the shipping price was worth the care he took in packaging up the two items. Just take a look at these pictures.  

Foot Friend Box Before Opening

Natural Twine used to secure foot friend to the bos

Massage Tool (great for getting into your heel and foot)

Foot Friend and Massage Tool Unboxed

     I should also mention that Brett makes custom orthotics too from scratch but I didn't order them. He also has some other sort of bazaar videos one of which is how to give yourself an enema! Thank you very much but I won't be watching that one!

     Another web site that has tons of information on Plantar Fasciitis is heelthatpain.com. They sell these things called Original Heel Seats and they are actually very well made. The research they did to create them is also pretty impressive. they have a guide that they will Email to you telling about their research as well as stretching exercises to do. They are shown in the picture below and are blue.

Blue Inserts are from Heel That Pain

     Did I mention that I was accumulating other "tools" that were designed to be rolled under the foot and looked like weapons from the old ages? Well I have lots of them. Some of them include hard rubber balls with little things that stick out all over. I have a thing that looks like a doggy toy that you put in the freezer and then roll it under your foot. I have a Chinese massage tool that you stand on and rock back and forth. It is like standing on a bed of nails. Ouch!!!

     About this time, I went back to my Podiatrist and he talked me into getting "the shot". Let me tell you, it isn't the most pleasant experience to get "the shot". 

     I really though this would do the trick. It didn't.

     Did I mention the cost of PT? How about $350 to $560 PER SESSION!!!! Yes, that is correct. It's un-freeking believable how much they charge. Thankfully, they were in network so with my health insurance discount, it cost me $60 per session. 

     After two months of PT, they shook their heads and told me they thought I had something really wrong and to go back to the doctor. I did.

     He said I needed another shot so I relented. It hurt the second time too. And it also did NOT help. 

     At this time, it was almost Christmas. My Podiatrist told me my custom orthotics were too old and said I needed to get new customs made. Cha Ching! $220 later, I had my new orthotics; half length this time. 

     No help. Now it is mid-January.

     About this time, I told my mother in law about the Podiatrist. She shook her head and told me I needed to go to a real doctor. She recommended her orthopedic surgeon.It was her doctor when she broke her foot the year before.

     Foot pain at this point? Pretty bad. I couldn't even walk properly. My left foot wouldn't push off properly and I was in constant pain. It was also affecting my right knee and hip. When you don't walk properly, it affects everything else in your body because you change how you walk.

     I made an appointment with the surgeon and he barely looked at it after I explained my history. He told me that there is a new procedure/surgery they are performing that is highly successful. It involves a small slit in the heel and then they "suck out" all the scar tissue. At this point, I basically didn't have a whole lot of options so we scheduled the surgery for February 15, 2017. 

     And that will be part 2 of this blog series on Plantar Fasciitis.

     Read about the surgery here...