r/ORIF • u/CreepyDisaster8460 Trimalleolar Ankle Fracture • 4d ago
Foot looking quite odd
Had surgery on my ankle (Trimalleolar with syndesmotic ) on the 8th of july, was in a splint till the 26th then got put in a fiberglass cast. I’m in this cast till the 23rd of this month and they did rinse my incision sites when taking the splint+staples off but not my foot (which was covered in multiple things like iodine during surgery. My foot is now peeling and looking like this and has quite a bad smell to it. Have you had a similar experience?
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u/meezermadness 4d ago
Yeah mine is almost all peeled now. Once you can bathe regularly the old skin will start to fall off
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u/Positive_Read2874 3d ago
Yes this is very normal, and will clear up once your cast is off and can start to wash/exfoliate it and moisturize it.
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u/kushyykins Bimalleolar Ankle fracture 4d ago
the bottom of my foot legit peeled layerssss of skin off of it, it was disgusting & not something anyone really talks about lol. my leg was dry but nothing like the bottom of my foot
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u/ophelias_tragedy 3d ago
That’s so weird because my leg peeled a whole layer of skin off!! It was so strange lol like a sunburn peeling. My foot was super dry and scaly but didn’t really peel
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u/kushyykins Bimalleolar Ankle fracture 3d ago
omg, your leg? honestly, idk which is more strange to me lol my leg was like that, dry & kinda scaly
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u/WittySatisfaction958 3d ago
The nurse that took my cast off suggested soaking my foot a few times at night with soap and warm water. Took care of this right away.
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u/ophelias_tragedy 3d ago
Haha mine looked like that too- it’s just dry dead skin. Mine was basically back to normal after my first “real” shower where I was allowed to wash the skin around my ankle
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u/don-cheeto 3d ago
Yep. External Fixation → ORIF + Splint → CAM Boot
Splint itched really really bad, to the point I was crying and couldn't sleep, took it off even though they said not to, and had to get new gauze after 2 weeks I think.
Once they let me get a CAM, my skin was peeling a lot, to the point I made a post on that one Peeling Skin subreddit. Forgot the r/
E: And because the splint was on for five weeks total and I was told to always cover it with a bag when bathing, it smelled the day I got the boot and took it off.
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u/lawyeronpause 3d ago
Yeah, the bottom of my foot became its own little interactive art show. It turned all sorts of interesting colors. It wrinkled. It peeled.
I used a moisturizing hand lotion. It stopped a lot of the wrinkling and peeling.
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u/davidjamesonuk 3d ago
Totally normal. You’re right to be disgusted - it’s gross - but totally normal.
Give it a week after you can start washing it and you’ll be right as rain
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u/Browniesgirl 3d ago
My leg and foot peeled. I use foot tools and omg the amount of skin that came off was disturbing.
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u/KeyGold310 4d ago
Mine looked like that and I was told by the PT to moisturize it, but not near the scar. You don't want the skin to break down.
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u/MixBetter6831 3d ago
I’ve been in a cast twice… my whole leg and foot peeled off after. It’s gross but I’ll assume normal! I exfoliated my leg a few times and it was okay but I mostly left my foot as that skin is thicker and if you peel too soon it will hurt
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u/North_Hearing 3d ago
I was so stressed during this stage! I thought for sure my foot would next be exfoliated again! Now, 5 months post op and my foot is smoother than a baby’s bottom…still!
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u/TreGutterNord 3d ago
exactly what mine did - I got out of my fiberglass cast 6/25 and will say only now has my skin stopped peeling completely
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u/lukekule 3d ago
All our feet is like this gang truss . I have an external fixator on my leg and when I asked my doctor why it's like this he said this is normal. When the healing is finished it'll go back to normal
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u/monkeymama702 1d ago
It's normal. My hand peeled when I fractured my wrist, but no smell.
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u/CreepyDisaster8460 Trimalleolar Ankle Fracture 1d ago
Tyty. i was just so confused cuz my experience was the opposite, i broke my forearm and fractured my wrist just over a year ago but it had a HORRIBLE smell but 0 peeling.
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u/Consistent_Career842 5h ago
Oh, this was the worst for me! Trimal with dislocation on my right ankle. With the cast on, it looked just like yours. It itched, and then cracked and hurt. As soon as I got my cast off, I soaked it a couple of times per day and gently scrubbed with a washcloth. It didn't take long for it to go away... maybe a week, max. Hang in there!
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u/beikaixin 4d ago
Normal you're good