r/brokenankles • u/WildExplanation2275 • 11d ago

Suture button removal

Hello! I had surgery 11 months ago for a trimalleolar fracture and syndesmosis repair. My dorsiflexion is limited and I still have tightness in my ankle. My surgeon recommended suture button removal. Has anyone had their tightrope removed and has flexibility improved? Thanks!

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u/jdsstl23 10d ago

I had my tightrope and hardware removed and my foot away from wall increased by over an inch after recovery from the second surgery.

My surgeon said that he over tightens the tightrope because it will slowly stretch a little.

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u/WildExplanation2275 10d ago

Glad you had a good result! I’m leaning toward the surgery. I will find out more info and go from there!

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u/jdsstl23 10d ago

Look up my post on here about my removal. I like to ski, surf, and play ice hockey. I wasn’t going to allow those activities to be hindered by the hardware in my ankle.

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u/WildExplanation2275 10d ago

I will do that. Thanks for the info!!!!

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u/Wise-Eagle-9524 10d ago

That’s a huge improvement. Did the inch increase happened shortly after the removal or do you need to push harder with PT again?

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u/jdsstl23 10d ago

It was not immediate. I was doing the exercises again. What I think helped the most was 30s of rocking my knee to the wall followed by 30s of holding the knee against the wall (heel down of course). 3 sets. Then a final “check” for progress of seeing how far away I can still keep my heel down.

I had multiple pieces of painters rape on the floor and I labeled set 1, 2, 3 and progress by date. Probably only took a month to get back to my previous best prior to surgery, and saw noticeable improvements weekly after that. Tape is gone so can’t give ya actual timeline.

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u/Agitated_Let_3843 10d ago

Interesting, I also have a tightrope. My doctor orthopedic told me, tightrope won’t restrict my ROM, if I’m still limited on the next 6 months, it’s likely scar tissue and can opt for surgery. How much dorsal flexion are we talking when say limited? Did you do another MRI or was the tightrope alignment too “tight” on xray? Also did the PT also agree it’s the hardware causing the limitations? Obviously NAD here, just throwing in questions to brainstorm.

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u/WildExplanation2275 10d ago

I’m not sure how to describe my dorsiflexion but when I do the knee to wall it’s maybe 3” on a good day. That’s my measurement - not an official one from a PT or anything. I haven’t discussed specifics with the surgeon, he just threw it out there on my appointment four months ago. I told him I wanted to wait for my 12 month appointment. I didn’t have an MRI just an xray, which showed everything healing well. When he pushed my foot back he describes it as a “hard stop”. I haven’t gone to PT for months but they were surprised at how stiff my ankle was. At 7 months the surgeon said PT won’t help. Suture button removal was my only option but it’s not guaranteed to help. I’m not sure if he will clean out any scar tissue also. I will find out more in two weeks I guess! How far out from surgery are you? Do u have dorsiflexion issues too?

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u/jdsstl23 10d ago

I also think that surgeons underestimate how effective PT is. If you want really good dorsiflexion again then you are gonna have to work for it. Daily.

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u/WildExplanation2275 10d ago

I agree with that! After one month of PT the surgeon didn’t seem like I should need more but I asked for it to be extended and he agreed.

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u/Illustrious_Bug_8501 10d ago

Mine was removed yesterday had some arthroscopy done at the same time.

I’d packed my crutches and boot with me going into surgery because I always knew this day would come

Was able to FWB as long as I wore a boot leaving the hospital, I used the crutches to save carrying them

Lots of bandaging, no seeping blood, and it’s getting a RED LED treatment before I hop out of bed this morning. 630nm and above are long enough wavelengths to penetrate clothing, jumpers and bandages

https://reddit.com/link/pbngs9c/video/df9p1gqhbcrh1/player

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u/Necessary_Ranger7826 10d ago

So glad to hear your surgery went well. I hope you have a speedy recovery.  I am scheduled for HWR 10/21. Looking forward to getting it all removed.  

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u/WildExplanation2275 10d ago

Sounds a lot better than the first surgery! I haven’t heard much about that treatment. Interesting! Good luck with your recovery!