MRI = Surgery

MRI Report

Initial Injury Date - March 2011

MRI Date - 10/14/11

There is mild intermediate signal intensity in the anterior talofibular (ATF) ligament particularly near the fibular insertion site compatible with a moderate grade partial thickness tear. The calcaneofibular, posterior talofibular, deltoid, syndesmotic and spring ligaments are intact. The is no marrow edema. The subtalar joint and talar are unremarkable. There is a small to moderate sized ankle effusion. The sinus tarsi, tarsal tunnel and planter fascia are unremarkable.

Doctor Says:

My doctor says he noticed some thickness around the calcaneofibular ligament (CFL) which he suspects could be a partial tear. Also, he noticed a possible Osteochondral (OCD) Lesion on the top of the Talus.

Oct 21st 2011- MRI follow-up

After my doctor reviewed my MRI he made an easy decision and that decision was surgery.  I will say this, it actually wasn't an easy decision for him.  He actually sat down and stared at my MRI images for what seemed like a solid ten minutes and then he examined my ankle again.  After all that then he said "I think we have tried everything we could, we did 4 weeks of PT, we did a cortisone shot and after all of this I am just not seeing any improvements.  I think it's time we go in there and see what's going on.  Your MRI clearly shows your ATF is partially torn and your CFL appears to be thickened as well.  I would like to do an Ankle Ligament repair definitely of your ATF, and I will take a look at the CFL when I'm in there and if it also needs repair I will take care of it as well.  Also, I noticed on your MRI the appearance of a possible OCD (this is loose cartilage on the talus).  With that, I would like to do an Athroscopy procedure in addition to a ligament repair."

And the Answer is - He wants to do an ankle scope and ligament repair surgery. Great, this just gets better and better.

Wow surgery, I should ask questions: I asked the doctor alot of questions about my chances of living without the surgery and it definitely seemed possible.  However, it would limit me a lot and could be painful and definitely boring.  Yeah so, there is no way I can live like that.  I think I was sold on surgery when my doctor did a demonstration of how floppy my left ankle was compared to my right ankle.  That was all I needed to see to make the easy decision.  Let's do it.

Of course as I walked out of the door with my surgery papers I made tons of phones calls with family and friends to see if this would be the best decision.  I actually have a close family friend (Dr. John R. Hawkins III) who is a podiatry surgeon and has been in contact with me throughout this process and has always been there to explain things and just give me his opinion as I dealt with my ankle issues.  Actually, he reviewed my MRI and we talked through my issues and his input was extremely helpful in making decisions or just understanding what might be going on with me.  Thanks John John for being my great medical consultant :)

In the end, the final decision was mine to make and I signed on the dotted line...ohh boy what have I done.