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Calcaneal fracture/chipped metatarsals

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hi. I would GREATLY appreciate some help in plain english. I am currently seeing a podiatrist (DPM), but he is foreign and I can’t understand his answers to my questions 1/2 the time. I hope these details will help you give a well informed response. I injured my right foot on 7/9/03. the dr. said it was broken on 7/11. it was physically impossible to walk at all for 1 week. after the 1st week, I limped short distances, max 50 yards with much pain and favoring my good foot. I was not even put in a boot until 7/30, and I have not removed it even for showering and have put no pressure on it. this will continue at least until my next appt. with my dr. on 7/22. I did understand him say that I chipped my 1st and 3rd metatarsals. that is the least of my worries and doesn’t hurt at all now. I had a 3 phase bone scan and on the order it said my pain was in the “calcaneocuboid area”. it came back that I do have a fracture there, but I could not understand what he said was broken. a break in this area would be considered a calcaneal fracture, correct? is that an actual break of the calcaneocuboid joint? or is it possible that I broke just the cuboid or just the calcaneus? I have no idea what is broken in that area. also does subtalar joint damage always occur with this injury or only sometimes, because it seems to complicate matters alot. as far as I know, there is no displacement. i’ve been researching this, and am very discouraged by many reports of poor outcomes. he says he will use x-ray to tell if I am healing, but I cannot understand how he is supposed to tell if union is occuring or not from x-rays when he couldn’t even tell for sure (he “suspected”) it was broken using only x-rays and had to use a scan to be sure. I have also read that this injury often requires surgery, and he has not mentioned that at all. looking at an x-ray of my foot and describing it as best I can, when I feel around on my foot, I pinpoint the pain to be on the lateral side of my right foot just between the cuboid and the calcaneus. when I limped I couldn’t put my heel down first as one normally does, and the entire back part of my foot hurt during weight bearing. it also hurts when keeping my ankle stationary and moving my foot to the inside (i think this is called supination?) and I am 26 years old and have a small child to keep up with. it really kills me to think my foot my never be the same. please enlighten me to what is going on with my foot and what type of outcome I am likely to have. on a lighter note, I think I am going to have to start taking a translator to the dr. with me. 🙂

4 comments

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    9 10

    i spoke w/my dr. again yesterday. he says there is a bone in my midfoot that is broken, but the scan could not pinpoint which one. they suspect it is one of the cuneiforms. this does not make sense to me because it hurts much further to the side, not near the cuneiforms. why can’t anyone determine what is broken? this does not seem like quality care to me. I have been to 2 doctors and a hospital. please advise.

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    9 10

    Angie after reading your story I felt as though I was reading my own. On July fifth I broke my calcaneus and it took 3 doctors and two different radiologists and 4 weeks to decide that it was broken. I am now in a cast and was told that surgery would not work for me. Do you live in South Florida by any chance, the Dr’s down here stink and I pretty much had to figure this out by myself. Well, good luck.

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    9 10

    i live in west virginia, and health care seems to stink pretty bad here, too, so don’t feel lonely. I am quite annoyed. good luck to you, too. how long are you supposed to wear yours?

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    9 10

    Not sure I’m supposed to go back in three weeks but this cast doesn’t seem to be doing much the pain is still there. I just have a really bad feeling. Good Luck to you also.

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