Cut Big Toe Tendon
My 13 year old son cut his foot badly just under his left big toe and cut 50% of the way through the tendon. I was told that this type of injury would heal itself. My son is very active in sports especially football. I am extremely worried that this is the wrong course of action especially since I have had some experience with tendon injuries in my family recently all of which required surgery to repair. Will the tendon heal properly and leave him full ROM in his toe?
1 Comment found
sheany
i am not a doctor. But trust me…. I know what I’m talking about! I have been having problems with that tendon now for 2 years. The podiatrist accidentally severed it during surgery and that treads were in tact, popped loose the next day. 50% is a lot. It will take years and years for that to “heal itself”. This, I know because I tore my archilles tendon a little when I was 14 and it finally stopped hurting when I was in my 30’s. So..wait it out? See if it tears more? Let it grow a bunch of scar tissue trying to heal itself? NO. You should take him to another podiatrist and have it repaired while it’s still 50% together. It will make it easier to repair if it isn’t torn. It HURTS A LOT when that tendon tears completely, as it involves a muscle in the leg. The first day, no pain. I just couldn’t move the toe. The next night, I couldn’t sleep because the pain was unbearable. It was 6 DAYS of agony before he could fix it because of an ice storm. Then, he didn’t use a tendon sheath, so it stuck. Once it sticks and grows a bunch of scar tissue, it’s almost imossible to get it working right. I JUST went through another surgery and will probably need another, using a tendon sheath, because that tendon is already stuck…omg.. So frustrating to not be able to bend my TOE!!AWWWWWEEEE! so..in answer to your question, fix it so it doesn’t break. 50% is NOT enough to support an average person, let alone an athlete. Since he’s young, he’ll heal faster, and it could save him years of anguish and help keep him ‘athletic’. If he’s always afraid to push himself because that tendon might break, it could steer him away from what he loves. If you don’t like what one doctor says, see another!