Game Changing Total Ankle Replacement: Russ’s Story
I have been physically active practically all my life. My main love was swimming. I was a high school and college swimmer, physical education major and age group swim coach. I also loved, running, bike riding and cross country skiing.
Around 2012, I started to get sharp pain in my right ankle when completing a run. It progressed to where I no longer could run and had a hard time walking. I made an appointment with Dr. Lin at Midwest Orthopedics at Rush. He determined that I had cartilage loss, arthritis and bone spurs in my ankle. Probably due to chronic ankle sprains in my college years. Dr. Lin performed Arthroscopy Debridement (bone spur removal) on my ankle in hopes of easing the pain. There was a temporary improvement but eventually the situation became worse.
I had pain of all different degrees when walking, climbing stairs, getting on a scale, pushing the gas pedal in my car. My balance was off, my calf muscle was atrophying, there was basically no flexibility in my ankle joint. The joint itself was swollen and distorted. When I rode my bike I would have to take great care not to tip over when I put my foot down at stoplights or for any reason. Getting on and off my bike was an adventure.
I wasn’t happy with my results at Midwest Orthopedics and I had since heard and read great things about IBJI and specifically Dr. Vora and his expertise with my type of ankle problem, so I decided to make an appointment with Dr. Vora.
I saw Dr. Anand Vora in January 2016 and after an extensive evaluation he determined that the best option to solve my ankle problem was total ankle replacement. Dr. Vora performed ankle replacement surgery on my right ankle on 3/17/16. Now, 10 months after surgery the swelling is gone. My balance and flexibility are back, my calf muscle is gaining in strength and size. The pain mentioned above is totally gone. I was able to cross country ski again, just like I used to. I can wear all of my shoes with or without an orthodic. People don’t take their kids off the street when they see me walking…
This has been a real game changer for me and my family. I want to thank Dr. Vora for his humanity, care, expertise and professionalism. I will always be impressed how this turned out. If anyone ever wants to know about my experience, I will be glad to share.
