How is ankle fusion surgery performed?
An ankle fusion makes the tibia, or shinbone, grow together with the talus, the bone immediately under it. During surgery, a cut is made on each side of the ankle, with the inner cut about 1 to 1.5 inches (3 to 4 cm) long and the outer one about 4 inches (10 cm) long. The bony bumps on either side of the ankle, called the malleoli, are removed to allow the surgeon to get into the joint. The joint is opened up, the joint surfaces removed and, if necessary, reshaped to correct a deformity. The joint is then put in the correct place and fixed with two or three screws. It is usually necessary to add extra bone into an ankle fusion to get it to heal and to fill any gaps in the fusion left by correcting a deformity. Ankle fusion recovery: Although an ankle fusion is quite durable and patients can usually walk with a near-normal gait, pain is often experienced in the area after surgery. In fact, most physicians who perform this surgery will usually tell patients to expect pain afterward. How
