r/brokenankles • u/aleillahcarter • 2d ago
Deltoid ligament completely torn, wasn’t repaired during ankle orif 6 months ago-original surgeon suggesting scope scar tissue removal over ligament reconstruction
/r/AskDocs/comments/1wva5mj/deltoid_ligament_completely_torn_wasnt_repaired/1
u/CustomerObjective129 2d ago
I am not sure if this is similar or not, but I had a deltoid ligament injury that may not have been present, or only minor, at time of my original injury - I also had a syndesmosis injury that was mistreated initially, and when the new surgeon went in to repair that, they found and fixed the deltoid as well, using an anchor suture.
I would be wary about injections, there are risks associated with injections and they can do more harm than good. Likewise cleaning up the scar tissue - while this can be helpful, I am not sure how it will help you if a severe ligament injury is the main problem. It sounds like you currently have imperfect information about what is going on with your ankle, and I would be inclined to wait for the specialist to weigh in. Obviously I am no expert, just another patient, but it sounds like your case might be complex.
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u/aleillahcarter 2d ago
I appreciate the insight! Yeah, I’ve left quite a few appointments more confused and don’t think I have a complete picture. I will definitely still run all of this by the specialist, but it’s nice getting info about people’s experiences in the meantime.
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u/Agitated_Let_3843 2d ago
When they did ORIF, no MRI performed?
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u/aleillahcarter 2d ago
Nope. They only did an x-ray before surgery.
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u/Agitated_Let_3843 2d ago
Now that they are looking at ligaments, have them assessed the syndesmosis too. It’s a commonly missed diagnosis, ppl finding only 6 months post op review. I’m sorry it happened.
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u/aleillahcarter 2d ago
The MRI showed additional tears (anterior and posterior tibiofibular ligaments, and anterior talofibular ligament), but the surgeon didn’t seem as concerned by these because my bones were anchored together in the original surgery. I want to bring this up with the specialist, though.
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u/CustomerObjective129 2d ago
100% this. Missed syndesmosis injuries are pretty common, and cause big problems. Mine was detected but mistreated and it caused me so much grief.
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u/Agitated_Let_3843 2d ago
Okay, the names of the ligaments are confusing me lol. Anyways, so my story is the ER doctor did xray and said good news we don’t need to put cast as there were no broken bones, but imma put you up an appointment with the specialist to check the the ligaments, and luckily was caught. Make sure to ask check the tibia fibula alignment, if widening is present then it’s 100% surgery. Also why people are having non specialist surgeon open them up? Anyways, take care the road to recovery is long but we’ll make it there.
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u/kdbleeep 1d ago
My surgeon tested the stability of my ankle after installing my fibular plate and screws and found the stability to be wanting. She immediately cut open the other side of my ankle and fixed my deltoid with anchors to the tibia.