Ankle Replacement
By: Charlotte Ames
Updated: October 4, 2012
Lightning bolts striking your foot. Pain so intense you feel you may never walk again. That's how people describe severe arthritis in their ankles. But now, new technology is helping arthritis sufferers.
23 years ago, arthritis sufferer Jacqueline Devine dislocated her ankle during a bad car wreck. She lived in constant pain for two decades. "It would feel like somebody hitting you with a ball bat all the time, in the ankle," she said.
Severe arthritis set in and she could barely walk. "I was getting to where I wanted to use a chair and wheel down the hall." Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Brian Donley from the Cleveland Clinic combined two breakthrough foot surgeries to fix her foot: a foot fusion and a total ankle replacement.
"These are two separate bones and we fused those now into one bone," Dr. Donley said. The foot fusion works in conjunction with the ankle replacement to give Jacqueline a stronger base. "What we see here is the metal piece that replaced her ankle bone. The metal piece that replaced her tibia bone here. And in between those two is a piece of plastic that's replaced her cartilage."
An ankle replacement is not for everyone. An ideal candidate is a non-smoker non-diabetic of reasonable weight who's 60 or older.
Twelve weeks after her surgery, Jacqueline said she was up walking on her own, even tying her shoes. That is something she hasn't been able to do without pain in years. "I feel brand new," she said. Thanks to the surgical combo, she's kicked her ankle arthritis to the curb.
An interesting note: before the doctor would perform the total ankle replacement on Jacqueline, he told her all her dental work needed to be up to date. Major dental work can potentially affect the healing process of the ankle. Bacteria from your mouth goes into your blood stream and could affect the new joint.
23 years ago, arthritis sufferer Jacqueline Devine dislocated her ankle during a bad car wreck. She lived in constant pain for two decades. "It would feel like somebody hitting you with a ball bat all the time, in the ankle," she said.
Severe arthritis set in and she could barely walk. "I was getting to where I wanted to use a chair and wheel down the hall." Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Brian Donley from the Cleveland Clinic combined two breakthrough foot surgeries to fix her foot: a foot fusion and a total ankle replacement.
"These are two separate bones and we fused those now into one bone," Dr. Donley said. The foot fusion works in conjunction with the ankle replacement to give Jacqueline a stronger base. "What we see here is the metal piece that replaced her ankle bone. The metal piece that replaced her tibia bone here. And in between those two is a piece of plastic that's replaced her cartilage."
An ankle replacement is not for everyone. An ideal candidate is a non-smoker non-diabetic of reasonable weight who's 60 or older.
Twelve weeks after her surgery, Jacqueline said she was up walking on her own, even tying her shoes. That is something she hasn't been able to do without pain in years. "I feel brand new," she said. Thanks to the surgical combo, she's kicked her ankle arthritis to the curb.
An interesting note: before the doctor would perform the total ankle replacement on Jacqueline, he told her all her dental work needed to be up to date. Major dental work can potentially affect the healing process of the ankle. Bacteria from your mouth goes into your blood stream and could affect the new joint.
Charlotte Ames is the area's only local Health Reporter and brings you the latest medical health news weeknights. You can catch Healthcast on WTAJ News at 5:00pm and her Health Headlines report on WTAJ News at 5:30pm.