r/Thritis • u/books_and_pixels • 4d ago

[Osteoarthritis in Foot] Having Subtalar Joint Fusion (Subtalar Joint Arthrodesis) Tomorrow!

/r/TarsalCoalition/comments/1x4ouih/having_subtalar_joint_fusion_subtalar_joint/
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u/Autoimmunitis 4d ago

I have had subtalar fusion on both feet. The recover takes a while due to non-weight bearing restriction, but overall wasn't a huge deal. I used a knee scooter to get a around which worked quite well. Pain is about as expected for a surgery of this type but improved quite a bit after the first couple weeks. A year later, I have no trouble waking although grossly uneven or loose ground can be challenging.
For the recovery, try to keep the foot elevated above your heart as much as you can. It makes a huge difference in healing and swelling. I would recommend getting yourself a leg wedge to keep the foot elevated when you sleep. The single leg ones are a bit easier to manage than the double leg wedges.

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u/books_and_pixels 3d ago

Wow, both feet must have been a lot to go through! I got a knee scooter as well but am planning to wait until the nerve block wears off to use it (crutches until then). Out of curiosity, do you remember what brand your knee scooter was?

Very glad to hear you had a good amount of pain relief after a couple weeks! And I'm so happy to hear that you're walking smoothly now that you've recovered! Have you experienced any issues with numbness after 1 year?

Thanks for the advice! I got a single leg wedge pillow before surgery, and it's definitely been helping. I'm trying my best to be a model patient lol because I really want this to heal properly!

I hope you're doing well!

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u/Autoimmunitis 3d ago

I didn't have both done at once, sorry if my post was misleading. I had about a year in between. My scooter is a Swivelmate, which cost a bit more, but is super stable and easy to navigate.
I had quite a bit of numbness after surgery, mostly affecting my toes and forefoot. A year later, I still have some but it is vastly improved.

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u/books_and_pixels 2d ago

Oh, no worries! I figured they must have been separate times if you were able to use a scooter, but that still sounds like quite an ordeal to go through it twice, even with a year in between!

The Swivelmate does look very nice! I got a BlessReach, which has been good so far, but I do have to pull an Austin Powers anytime I turn around haha.

Sorry to hear that you still have some numbness, but it's great that it's improved compared to before at least! I've read that nerves can take a long time to heal/grow. Thank you so much for sharing your experience!

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u/Autoimmunitis 2d ago

Assuming your surgery went well? On the scooter, its better to take it slow and Austin Power it than take a spill 😄 Hope your recovery goes well and feel free to reach out with any questions.

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u/books_and_pixels 2d ago

Yeah, surgery went well! The only hiccup was a brief stumble this morning when I was using crutches. I was getting back into bed after a trip to the bathroom, and I lost my balance and put weight on my bad foot for a couple of seconds 😭 it hurt a lot, but the doctor said it's probably fine and can wait until my post-op appointment next week to check it. No visible bleeding or anything!

Anyway, I'm definitely going to be more careful in the mornings now! 😂 Slow and steady is the way for sure.

Thanks so much for the well-wishes and the offer to answer questions!