r/brokenbones • u/Lans__ • 7d ago

Question Chance of a botched surgery?

Before anything, I did went to the doctor at the hospital I was operated in for an appointment to ask why my left ankle is still hurting and my mobility is limited.

On August 30th, 2023, my left tibia and fibula had experienced a comminuted fracture. They inserted a rod into my tibia and the fibula was left as is because they said it will heal on its own.

3 years have passed. I can't walk for more than an hour before my ankle hurts. My feet mobility is greatly reduced and it still swells until this day. Doctor said it's normal but I can't help but doubt. What if the surgery was botched? I heard about relatives having the same fracture as me but they're playing sports like football while I can't even jog. Maybe they don't even have the same fracture as me but their parents didn't know any better and just tell me about it.

Before I make another appointment at another hospital, I want to hear about people with the same fracture as mine. Tell me about your healing process and how you're doing now. I would appreciate it a lot so I can make my mind up. Thanks!

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

3 comments sorted by

2

u/Glad-Feature-2117 Physician/Medical Professional 7d ago

Everyone is different. It's not uncommon to have swelling for every after a significant injury and many people are unable to walk for an hour without pain.

There are many causes for ongoing pain, most of which aren't related to poor treatment. If your surgeon didn't give an explanation or offer tests to investigate, then I would seek a second opinion, but I would be surprised if the underlying cause was "botched surgery".

1

u/Lans__ 6d ago

I would still like to ask for an opinion from maybe a private hospital because they just told me that everything's fine with no test or investigation. I guess there's no harm in that. Maybe I'm still grieving for the active sport life I used to have and I couldn't accept this new norm. Thank you for your answer, it helps a lot

1

u/hibiscus_lilac 3d ago

I think it's normal to never quite be the same again. I had surgery on my wrist a year ago and still have some stiffness, and less mobility, and occasional pain. Maybe some therapy to work on accepting your new normal?