Does my wife need more surgery post-foot fracture surgery?

Question

Hi doctor,

I have doubts on behalf of my wife. Three days back, she met with an accident and got her foot injured. Her heel got severe damage and after diagnosis doctor said the following. Left heel pad avulsion injury, communicated fracture calcaneum left foot, and medial malleolus fracture of the left leg. They did surgery for her and took a CT scan and X-ray. We have the wound pictures also. My question is, is there any complication in that injury? Will there be any need for further surgery? If required, I will upload the pictures of the CT scan and wound photos.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

You have mentioned that your wife sustained an injury to her left limb with extensive injury of the heel region and around the ankle. I presume an external fixator has been applied along with debridement and suturing of the wound. It is an understatement to say that it is a very complicated injury, especially with the fractures mentioned. I will need to see the clinical pictures of the wound at present along with the x-rays and CT scan images to actually understand the kind of fracture. It appears that she may require surgery for the fixation of calcaneum or heel bone, especially once the wounds have healed. But, the decision on what needs to be done actually depends upon a lot of factors and we may have to involve a plastic surgeon to see for wound coverage. So, she may require more surgeries as the current one has been done as a part of initial management so that fractures remain stable and wounds heal up properly. Also, antibiotic cover will be required and healing of wounds can be assessed clinically and by a followup ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) and CRP (C-reactive protein) investigation results. A brief clinical summary from the treating doctor will help me understand the current clinical scenario and I can advise you accordingly.

Thank you.