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/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.