Stopped lengthening at 1cm…how will my recovery be?

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Hey everyone

I underwent LON for Tibias in the beginning of June. My aim was 3cm.

The Dr told me that during the surgery he will leave a gap of around 0.4cm.  I lengthen for only 6 days then had to stop for personal reasons. 

Basically, it was 13 days after my first surgery when I got the external frame removed.

I am now 3 weeks since the removal.

Currently walking around 1 hour a day on a walker (divided into six 10 minute walking sessions) and do the physio I have been instructed.  7 sets of exercises, 3 times a day.

Currently I do have pain in my knees but the Dr said it’s because I’m still in the early stages. I’m just scared that I hope I don’t develop chronic knee pain.

My question is, how long until I will be able to walk normally and sit and stand and do most basic things again?  I have never been the athletic person so I don’t care too much about extreme athleticcm, I’m just talking about normal function. 

Also when will the vast majority of the pain go away?

I will include my latest X-rays. They are from yesterday. Do they look good?

https://pasteboard.co/yYZfLPgyupCB.jpg
https://pasteboard.co/XDIzNozeMDUb.jpg
https://pasteboard.co/6YsxqP1YjX5y.jpg
https://pasteboard.co/nuq1fNRGDFdc.jpg

Thank you all so much. Again, before bashing me, it was extreme personal reasons that I had to stop the surgery.

Thanks guys, I just hope I can be normal again and not feel the pain.

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Quote from: maison on July 14, 2022, 11:07:54 AMYour tibia appears to have an procurvatum deformity.
Has your doctor made any comments about the deformity?

https://slidetodoc.com/presentation_image_h/f064d33effba29136edbe00c0b9b73f7/image-17.jpg
https://custom-images.strikinglycdn.com/res/hrscywv4p/image/upload/c_limit,fl_lossy,h_9000,w_1200,f_auto,q_auto/845312/3e325ae1e46947deaaf7c0f2f6fbd1b8_nli8iy.png

You should consult with your physician, but you may need to install the frame again to correct the deformity.

I just asked him now. His response was :

No, you have slight translation deformity. When your newly formed bone fills the gap your translation will disappear.  Translation deformity occured because we ended the lengthening earlier. New bone will fill your gap. Your joint angle is normal so you should just wait.

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Quote from: maison on July 14, 2022, 11:45:09 AMIt looks to me like you have a 4-5 degree deformity in your tibia.

It is not a serious deformity and the deformity may become less noticeable in the future.

By the way, do you intend to do another bone lengthening once your personal problems are resolved?
If the deformity bothers you in the future, you can have it corrected at the time of revision surgery.

Thank god it’s nothing serious. And most likely I won’t do this surgery again. The pain and mental torture is too much for me, you can call me weak etc, that’s fine.

When you say ‘the deformity bothers you’ do you mean in terms of aesthetics or pain?  Because I I really don’t want pain. One thing I realised is that I have a very low tolerance for pain and that’s why I’ll never do this surgery again.

Thank you brother

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Quote from: maison on July 14, 2022, 12:06:23 PMMy main concern about your deformity is a cosmetic issue.
Since it is not a major deformity, I think it is unlikely that you will develop chronic knee pain or other problems in the future.

However, I am not an expert and you should listen to the opinions of other doctors or members of this forum. If revision surgery is performed to correct the deformity after consolidation, it is very painful because of the osteotomy required.

That’s good news then. I could give a damn about how it looks cosmetically. I never wear shorts anyways lol.

I wanted to ask you however, back to my original question, what should be the expected timeline for my recovery?  When should I be off the walker, and be able to walk normally without pain without any assistance? I’d love to hear a rough timeline.

I walk 1 hour everyday.  Everyday I try to add an extra 10 minutes.

I do my 7 sets of excercises 3 times a day as instructed by my physio.

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Quote from: maison on July 14, 2022, 01:07:06 PMIs it the knee, not the osteotomy, where you feel the strong pain?

I feel pain in the osteotomy area but what I feel in the knee I wouldn’t call sharp pain. It’s just annoying tenderness. Very nagging. Feels sore.  The Dr told me it’s because of how early the surgery is, so I am hopeful.  I just hope it doesn’t sustain and I hope I don’t develop any chronic knee issues.

What do you think?  How long would you say it’s normal to feel a nagging soreness and tenderness in the knee area after this surgery?

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Thanks guys. I’m pretty confident that my ankles and legs will be back to normal. I only lengthened 1cm… if that.  Maybe even only 0.8cm. Barely anything.

I’m just worried about potential long term chronic knee pain.  I truly hope I don’t get it.

But then again, after doing some more research, inserting a nail into the tibia is a pretty common surgical treatment for tibial injury’s. Surely, if it’s performed a lot by surgeons outside of LL then it’s should be too much of a worry? 

Finally, would you guys recommend I get the nails removed one day? Or should I keep them in and the screws forever?

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And finally, how bad can the chronic knee pain be? What does it feel like?

Is it constant or only when walking or exercising etc?

Is there anyone in this forum that developed chronic knee pain?

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So, do you guys think I shouldn’t worry too much then?

Since I only lengthened 1cm.

I am 5 weeks post op, and walking with a walker. There’s pain in my knees when I move my legs and walk and also pain in calves when I walk.  Is this normal ?

And when should I expect this pain to go away?  I just want to be able to walk and do normal daily things without pain

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Thank you brother,  but I’m sorry I didn’t understand.

Basically is that good news for me or bad?

Based on my X-rays and the study you linked, is the likelihood of me getting chronic knee pain high or low?

Thanks again!

Here are some more x rays where you can see the top of the nail :

https://pasteboard.co/CCxhiu7CK8ir.jpg
https://pasteboard.co/blD9P4OdUIGE.jpg
https://pasteboard.co/y4z4HwjXhtl7.jpg
https://pasteboard.co/gWaYUCDz8OK5.jpg

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