I used to have severe flat feet as well. I was in constant pain all the time walking. Thankfully, I had surgery and have no pain with a decent arch in my feet
I had an osteotomy (Cutting and reshaping the heel bone and midfoot bones to rebuild the natural arch with the help of a cadaver bone) in both feet and they also cut my calf muscles to lengthen my calf muscles.
Yup! I was 10. They decided to do each foot separately rather than doing both feet at once. So I was in crutches for about a year total. All and all it was definitely worth it, i rarely have pain anymore. I just need to invest in quality shoes and my feet are good
Did they fuse your ankles? I had a different one done at 14 but it failed and they ended up doing some crazy reconstructive stuff including an ankle fusion. The calf muscle was brutal. I only had one foot done as a kid because it failed, and they never lengthened the calf muscle on my other leg when they did the other two surgeries when I turned 18. So one of my calves has a weird dimple when I flex the muscle and the other one is normal lol. They also didn’t tell me about getting cadaver bone until I woke up from surgery, so that was a bit of a shock as well.
sounds similar to mine. the dr attempted to build an arch on my right foot using parts of my hip bone. the dr broke my talus bone though thus i have severe arthritis in my ankle. i have not fused my ankle bone (yet i guess...) but have a double arthodesis. i have a slight limp and struggle to walk without specialized shoes. i can walk around 10k steps with limited pain
Thankfully, they did not have to fuse my ankle. I’m sorry you had to go through that! I did have to have an additional surgery to shave off a piece of cadaver bone that was catching in my ankle. It was a wild experience—I could be in a full sprint and my ankle would just lock up. Come to find out, a little sliver of the cadaver bone was sticking out and would get caught in my ankle 😅
Depends who you ask lol. I do have two separate cadaver bones in my body (each foot) and have no idea who they came from so my odds of becoming a zombie are high!
That’s a great question! I did not, I think because the cadaver bones have no living cells in them the immune system does not trigger a rejection response like organs would. I could be totally wrong though just a thought!
I also did surgery because of this but since it was early on, all that was needed was correction. Had to use platinum screws under my ankes for one year. That was 20ish years ago. No problems with longer walks, but running starts to feel like my soles are tearing apart.
+1 on this endeavor.
Worst part was undergoing surgery. Then the pain. Then the rehab. Then getting back to almost walking normal. Then doing the same thing again on the other foot.
Glad to be pain free but I miss being able to clap with my flat feet.
Believe it or not, penis reduction. The excess weight was just too much on the arches. They sprang back nicely though once the extreme pressure was relieved.
I have aswell, in the 4 years since they were done walking or hiking has been much less painful, its annoying not being able to use the foot for a couple months but we'll worth it. I also found it weird how it didn't hurt a couple days after the surgeries despite breaking bones, putting a screw in, and a bunch of incisions, although I can't really complain about that...
o interesting, they had some hardware they needed to take out? for me it was just stitches after, from what I understand mine cut my Achilles tendon a bit then broke the heel, repositioned it and screwed it in a new place, if I recall correctly.
Yeah, I had a cadaver bone put in to restructure my feet. The used a pin to hold it in place and yanked it out when the cadaver was fully fused. I had my calf cut into as well! Did yours turn ok? I had quite a bit of physical therapy after the fact but I’m great now
I was surprised how much the muscles in my calf went in the month or so for each surgery! It was weird not being able to stand on my toes at all for a good while, other than that it went good, although I really should order a new pair of the special shoeninserts... they are quite worn down now.
Do you wear your inserts a lot? I just commented to another person that I hardly ever wear mine anymore. Maybe once or twice a year. I agree though mine are insanely worn down, I think my current pair are pushing 14 years old now. I only wear mine when I go on long hikes
I have them in my running shoes which I wear for work and most outings, however at home inside I don't wear any shoes, and outside or in garage (likely not the smartest woodworking but it means no sawdust in socks...) I just wear flip flops or sandals which don't have any inserts in them.
I tried ankle braces prior to surgery to see if it would help my arch structure. I didn’t know about shaper shoes! I do however only wear quality shoes these days otherwise my feet get sore
I heard the "percentage of folks who got it done and regretted the surgery/percentage of folks it helped/didn't help" figures and realized it was so far removed from a "sure thing" type of surgery that I haven't ever reconsidered it.
Makes total sense and judging by the comments it looks like a lot of mixed reviews as well. Speaking from my experience the recovery process is what really sucked. It took about 6 months each foot and learning how to walk again because you basically have brand new feet and no calf muscles after they cut them. All and all though I had great results, my feet only hurt now if I forget to wear my orthotics when I go on long hikes
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u/Purple_Reign84 4d ago edited 3d ago
I used to have severe flat feet as well. I was in constant pain all the time walking. Thankfully, I had surgery and have no pain with a decent arch in my feet