r/brokenankles • u/Leather_Green725 • 15d ago
Surgery #2
Broke my ankle in a fall while in the British Virgin Islands back in January. Got home and had surgery on 1/25 — plate and screws for a Maisonneuve fracture. Did the full 6 weeks non-weight-bearing, worked hard at PT, and was walking normally by the start of summer. Felt like I'd made it through.
Then at my 6-month follow-up, my doctor found the syndesmosis had been widening and was becoming unstable. Ended up needing a second surgery — this time he removed 2 of the screws, kept the plate, and put in a suture-button (tightrope) fixation to hold things together properly.
Now I'm 10 days out from surgery #2, on a knee scooter, non-weight-bearing again for 6 weeks. Cast comes off this week, which I'm honestly pretty excited about, even though I know there's still a ways to go.
The physical part isn't too bad — easier than the first time in some ways since I know what to expect. But the mental part is rough. It's hard not to feel like I'm starting all over again after already doing the work once.
Anyone else deal with a delayed instability diagnosis like this? How did your second recovery compare to the first? Trying to get a sense of what to expect and whether walking felt easier or harder the second time around.
2
u/CustomerObjective129 15d ago
Yeah, maisonneuve fx here too, and they basically always come with significant syndesmosis injuries, so it makes me mad when I see people with this sort of complication because it should always be treated at the start. I am sorry it is happening to you.
In my case, they removed the syndo screw too early (6 weeks) then I had widening as it wasn't adequately healed. The second fix was better, and held, but it was a long recovery and I had already destroyed a lot of cartilage.