If you have been plagued by chronic ankle sprains or your foot simply hasn’t healed as expected following a severe sprain, your orthopedic specialist may recommend a surgical procedure to address the ligaments. Minimally invasive ankle ligament reconstruction can restrengthen and restabilize these important ligaments and have you back on your feet with confidence in your ankle in just a few weeks. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at the operation and recovery timeline for ankle ligament reconstruction.
Getting Back To Normal After Ankle Ligament Surgery
Surgical correction of ankle instability is one of the most common procedures that Dr. Silverman and his team perform. Whether your ankles have become unstable due to an acute injury or repetitive trauma during sports, you stand to benefit from this minimally invasive operation if conservative options like rest and physical therapy don’t produce the intended results.
During the operation, the surgeon will make a two very minor incisions (1/4 inch) on the front of your ankle, and a small incision will be made on the lateral side of your ankle. Specialized tools will be inserted that will allow your doctor to access the ligaments without the need for a large incision. The ankle ligaments will be tightened using the Brostrom-Gould technique, which involves the placement of sutures to strengthen and stabilize the ligaments. This technique is preferred because it promotes normal ankle anatomy, tension and stability in the area. The minor wounds are then closed with stitches before your leg is placed in a cast to protect the area during the early stages of recovery.
You’ll need to protect the ligaments from stress during the first stages of recovery, so you’ll be asked to take it easy and use crutches if you need to get anywhere to avoid putting stress on the area. Rest and protection are key for the first 2-3 weeks. After this period, you’ll come back in for an assessment where your initial cast may be removed if healing is progressing as expected. Another cast or brace may be applied at this time, but assuming all looks well, you may soon be able to take on bigger challenges.
You may be able to return to a sedentary job at this point, and you will be asked to bear some weight and complete some physical therapy exercises. All timelines vary a bit, but many patients can return to moderate physical activities around the 8-10 week mark, but that may extend to 12 weeks or beyond for more physical labor. Even though you may be able to take on significant physical challenges at the 2-3 month mark, you may notice that your ankle continues to heal for up to a year after your ankle ligament reconstruction procedure.