To all,
I found comfort in reading the many posts referencing the similar situation that I was in, including the surgery/recovery so I wanted to return the favor for anyone else out there.
After dealing with pain while walking and being unable to run/play basketball at all(which i would do with regularity) I started seeing orthopedic surgeons, seeking opinions. I was diagnosed with OCD of the right ankle, larger in size which, according to a few of the surgeons, eliminated microfracture from being helpful. I visited with 4 surgeons in my local area, upstate NY, and all discussed microfracture and OATS as the two options. It wasnt until i did a little more research did I learn about DeNovo and the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC. My surgeon was well-versed in the procedure, has been doing it since the beginning and has done hundreds.
I had the procedure on December 19th, 2014...in at 6:30am, procedure at 8:30am and was on my way home by 2pm. They did a small bone graft from my heel, which was taken via arthoscope in order to build a 'bed' for the DeNovo transplant. I had the cystic portion of bone removed, there was more healthy cartilage remaining than originally thought due to the fact that it is not easy to tell through the MRI or CT scans that I had. They also extracted bone marrow from my hip bone, which they took to utilize stem cells that were mixed with the DeNovo material. I never felt any pain after from the hip marrow extraction. They did give me spinal anaesthesia which I had to wait for to wear off before I was allowed to leave. The nerveblock in my right leg, however, stayed for about a day and a half. I was able to get home and get comfortable before any sort of pain began. It was not unbearable and lasted for just about a week, the painkillers kept it pretty much in check. I was in a heavy splint, wrapped in ace bandage for 2 weeks, then was put in a removable walking boot, which i currently am still in.
Once in the boot, I am still non-weight bearing (which sucks), but I can remove the boot for showering/sleeping and during the day because i am supposed to be doing stretches with my ankle forward and back in order to regain flexibility and prevent scar tissue from building up and stiffening the joint. There has not been much pain while moving/stretching the ankle, although i do have about a 3-4 inch scar around the outside of my ankle joint. At this point, I am 5 weeks and 3 days out of surgery and was told to start 50% weight bearing, with the crutches as aides, on Feb 8th, which will put me at about 7. 5 weeks. I am looking forward to that day, i feel like they are being conservative as i feel like i could partial weight bear in the boot now, but im not going to rush anything. I have zero pain normally, a dull ache or two every now and again but it doesnt last long. Swelling is pretty minimal at this point, my foot does get to a light purple shade early in the morning when i first get up and get vertical but by the end of the day the color is normal.
i welcome any questions anyone may have about my procedure and/or recovery process...I am still in the midst of it myself so as I continue I will be sure to update with any progress/set backs(of which i hope I have none). Thanks to everyone who has posted previously and provided me with the information that comforted me during my research and for anyone in the beginning stages, feel free to reach out to me.
Kyle