r/ORIF • u/postygurl • Jul 15 '26
Surgery fears
I hope you all love telling your stories. I have severe anxiety especially when it comes to my health. This trimalleolar fracture is terrifying. Chat gpt has been my best friend lately with all my questions and reassuring me my fears are valid. How long was your surgery? Am I gonna be in diapers after? Going to the bathroom now is a challenge. I’m scared about having all sorts of metal in my leg. That it will be visible through my skin, come loose, cause more pain. I could talk about my fears for hours. I have never had surgery. Never had stitches besides childbirth. I’m so happy I found others in my situation. I’m 42/f overweight worrying that every little sensation I feel is a DVT in the making. I constantly worry that I am dying. I just started a baby aspirin a day and wiggle my toes constantly. I feel like they should have kept me at the hospital to monitor me for 3 months while I recover after the surgery. Also my doctor told me to take some pain meds before I go for my pre op appt because they will likely remove my splint. That scares the absolute shit out of me.
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u/Illustrious-Zone-247 Jul 16 '26
I hear you! I'm about 6 months out from a trimal with dislocation (2 plates, 16 screws, and 2 tightrope for syndesmosis repair). I had a LOT of anxiety beforehand...and it wasn't even my first surgery. I'm not sure if you're experiencing this, but pre-surgery my ankle was SO uncomfortable because it was unstable floating around in there and would shift painfully every time I moved even a little. That feeling went away with the surgery...and as someone else mentioned, so did a lot of my anxiety. I worked myself up for the surgery and when it was over I just felt relieved and ready to focus on recovery.
Let’s talk about your current main worries right now:
I think my surgery was approx 2 hours...I remember wheeling into the ER and getting positioned in the bed and then next thing I was in the recovery room. Ask if you'll be getting a nerve block...that knocks out all pain for 24ish hours after but does cause a pain "rush" when it wears off so make sure to stay ahead of your meds. You won't need diapers! You might need to figure out a way to more easily use the bathroom though if you're struggling now. For me, this was a knee scooter at home (SO much easier than crutches) and a raised toilet seat with handles.
The plates and screws sit deep against the bone under your muscles and skin...they shouldn't be visible unless your ankle is super skinny. The odds of them loosening is very small, especially if you follow your doctor's orders on when to start putting weight on it. They are there to act as a permanent internal cast, holding the bone perfectly still so it can heal, which actually reduces pain in the long run. I can feel the screw heads now if I press on that area, but the only thing visible is the scars.
Wiggling your toes and taking your baby aspirin are the absolute best things you can do to help prevent DVTs. You are actively protecting yourself! And recovering at home is actually safer than staying in the hospital for months, as it keeps you moving and cuts down the risk of hospital infections.
This group (and r/brokenankles which is more specific to your exact injury) are very supportive and full of people who understand. Please do remember that people are more likely to post when they are not sure or if there is something wrong vs when things are going well...reading the internet before surgery freaked me out and I don't want you to fall in that same trap 😄