3rd surgery

[ZoesMom]

Zoe goes on Wed. to get her third surgery. :kleenex: Her valve is being replaced and her doc is putting collagen in to seal the hole up so her fluid quits trying to bypass the shunt. We also found out that soon she will be having her fourth surgery to cut the tendon on the back of her right heel because her ortho doc says its too tight but her left foot is doing great.

[Dodger67]

Good luck! Hope it goes well.
Both my achilles tendons were cut when I was a baby - my clubbed feet required surgery - casts were never going to do the job. Mind you, it was 40 years ago and perhaps the "state of the art" has moved on a bit since then.
Is there a compelling reason why they can't arrange to do both operations at the same time? It helps to cut down on hospital time - which is always a good thing.

[Barb]

C had the tendons done as well. He was two when we did it. We tried being conservative and seeing if just afo's would work but no such luck. Good luck!

[Dodger67]

Having achilles tendons cut means never standing without afos - but thats no big deal.

[ZoesMom]

The two surgeries would be done in two diff locations. Her ortho doc is in Oklahoma City and her nero is in Tulsa. They didn't say anything about having to be in the hospital after the tendon cutting they just told me it was done in their clinic most of the time not the hospital. So if she gets her tendon cut she will have to walk with afo's?

[Dodger67]

Yes it is impossible to stand without support if your achilles are cut.

Doing it during a clinic visit makes sense as it is a simple, quick operation. The tendon is directly under the skin so its quite simple to open up, snip and put in a couple of stitches.
Depending on her existing paralysis, she might need afos or even more bracing anyway, (if she even is a walker at all) so it makes no real difference.
Between needing afos and having clubbed feet that cause a lifetime of problems there is no contest, cut the tendons and be done with it!

[cutie patooties mom]

Is having the achilles cut the same as a heel cord release? Gabi had that done at about 6 years old. Her heel cord was so tight because of a syrinx. We tried casting and rigorous stretching but that did not work. Now she has no tightness at all in her heel. My thoughts are with you for this surgery.
Bronwyn

[ZoesMom]

her orthopaedic guy said that since we are doing the tendon cut so very early that it shouldnt matter when it comes to the afos. he said that kids wear those to protect the tendon while its healing so it doesnt apply to her.

[Barb]

AFO's aren't specifically for protecting the tendon. They are to give added strength and stability for those in the L3-L5 area as well.

[chris8258]

I hope all went well.