Distal tibia bone spur removal - whose had it and how was recovery?

[couloirman]

Long story short, I've broken my leg a bunch of times, and have a titanium tibia. Never thought I'd be able to run but was able to work up to a slow marathon a few years back and was stoked to be able to do so - was in the best shape of my life. I continued to run a lot and would feel fine during, but would have terrible pain the next day. I have always had limited dorsiflexion which I just presumed was because I had no cartilage after my injuries, bit I finally went to the ortho who told me I had the biggest distal tibia bone spur he's ever seen. I had that removed 3 months ago and the surgery went well, he said the cartilage underneath looked great so he expected a great outcome and I went on my merry way.

Well, I am still in A TON of pain. Some days I can hardly walk, other days I go on easy hikes and it's OK. Im starting to ride the exercise bike and lift weights again, deadlifts are OK but squats kill my ankle. Mostly if I wear the wrong shoes I can hardly bear weight without excruciating pain or walking so slow and limping so much that people literally stop me on the street and ask if Im ok. Sometimes it's almost as if Ill collapse from pain out of nowhere, then I put on some Merrel hiking boots, shake it off a little and I can walk again relatively normally, albeit slow.

If you've had a similar procedure, does this sound similar to your recovery? The internet seems to suggest a "quick return to sport" for many undergoing this procedure. I've told my ortho and he's just blowing me off saying it's fine and this is just what it's like to recover from major surgery at 41 years old. And since I have a titanium tibia he can't get a good resolution image of what's up in there without just going in and doing another arthroscopy which Im hoping to avoid.

Thoughts from anyone whose had a similar procedure?

[Dantheman]

Looks you're a special snowflake, unfortunately.

Sorry to hear this. I seem to remember you've been through some rough injuries lately.