Broken Talus bone, how serious?

[Cappuccino]

On October 9th, I dropped my Beemer on 17, and was taken by amberlamps to Santa Clara Valley Med center. They took a bunch of Xrays, and like 4 hours later got me a CT scan. Towards the end of my stay an orthopedic surgeon came in and told me that I have a fractured talus with a minor movement, so they put me in a splint and sent me off.

Fast forward to yesterday, I haven't seen an orthopedic doc yet because of really dumb insurance issues, so I went to the ER in Santa Cruz because I was worried about my foot. They got more xrays, and a CT, and today I got a call from a podiatrist that they referred me to, who said that my talus has multiple fractures that didn't really show up on Xray, but the CT scan made them painfully obvious.

I'm honestly pretty darn scared right now. How bad is this? Will I die? I don't want surgery.

I'm like a little baby right now, I swear.

 

[planegray]

I don't know anything about talus bones, but I know that feeling !! :cry

Heal up dude !

 

[Cappuccino]

Thanks man. I'm kinda pissed that it took so long for me to get to a doc because of really dumb insurance issues. Arrgg...whatever.

 

[ABC]

God my buddy fucked his up royally and he is having a nightmare of a time with recovery:

 

[NB0tt]

Yer gon die Shenko


Have you tried soaking it in cider? :laughing

 

[Cadman]

Use your computer to look around for data and keep calm. You are asking for medical advice on a motorcycle board. Ask your doctor.

http://www.tri-countyortho.com/patient-resources/patient-education/talus-fracture-treatment-options

I hope you heal quickly. If the doc says "Stay off it", you should do that or join the rebels that wouldn't in a life long problem with it. My brother is in pain enough to take pills every day because he would not listen.

 

[Eye Heart Pasta]

I broke mine in 2009. I only had one clean break with no displacement(well, 0.5mm, according to the doc). No surgery. After being in a cast for ~6 weeks, I did physical therapy in a pool to start. I walked with a cane for awhile, and had a limp for about a year. Range of motion recovery was the biggest bitch, do those exercises religiously.

I'd actually forgotten about it until I saw "Talus" in your thread title. Yours sounds worse than mine, but that doesn't mean it's the end of the world. Once you get an orthopedic, listen to what he says.

Good luck with everything.

 

[EastBayDave]

don't be afraid to get a second or even a third opinion; docs discriminate against moto-riders all the time (happened to me.)

See what the second or third doc says & get back to us...:afm199

 

[WFO]

I broke every bone in my left foot with the exception of three toes sixteen years ago. I was laid up in a cast for the better part of three months. It still hurts occasionally and makes crunchy sounds.

 

[kingmoochr]

When you tell a hospital you have insurance, they will have to run every procedure and test through them before you get it. PITA. When you tell them you DON'T have insurance, they're free to act in your best interest, immediately. Especially at a regional trauma center.

Get your medicine done first, then submit it to your insurance.

 

[westie]

I broke mine in 2009. I only had one clean break with no displacement(well, 0.5mm, according to the doc). No surgery. After being in a cast for ~6 weeks, I did physical therapy in a pool to start. I walked with a cane for awhile, and had a limp for about a year. Range of motion recovery was the biggest bitch, do those exercises religiously.

I'd actually forgotten about it until I saw "Talus" in your thread title. Yours sounds worse than mine, but that doesn't mean it's the end of the world. Once you get an orthopedic, listen to what he says.

Good luck with everything.

This. Shattered mine. Its known as the "aviators break" from pilots in WWII. The ER doc casted it but never told me about recovery. Ortho doc tried to chew me out and said I'd need multiple surgeries. I have poor range of motion. I limp sometimes. I can feel a cold front coming. The only thing I really can't do is sprint. I never went back for the multiple surgeries. Calve raises will become your best friend.

 

[Cappuccino]

Hey everyone, sorry for the lack of updates. Due to stupid insurance issues, I got surgery 4 weeks after my accident. The ortho surgeon talked me into it after a while, and he said this is the kind of thing that should have been operated on 2 days after the crash, not 3 weeks later. I went in wary of getting surgery but all in all I'm glad I did it. My ortho's been a surgeon for 27 years, so I was glad to have someone with experience under their belt. It all went well, which I'm of course super happy about, and he says I should be back to work sometime late January, which isn't bad.

In the meantime, I've sold my BMW, bought a faux derbi RD50 and have been working on that with my friend in the meantime.

As for the break, it broke right down the middle, vertically. Doc says it's rotated 1mm, and by the time I got surgery it has glued it's self together enough that they couldn't move it. They did put a 3.5x50mm screw in the talus and cleaned out the broken bone bits around the ankle.

 

[Road Rash]

Twice

I broke my right one twice. It shows up in X-Rays as an X in the bone. Healed fine both tomes and I have had no issues.

 

[Cappuccino]

I broke my right one twice. It shows up in X-Rays as an X in the bone. Healed fine both tomes and I have had no issues.

That's a relief. Considering all the talk about things not healing right in this thread that's good to know. How long did it take for you to be up and about again?

 

[Cappuccino]

Oh yes, I got a $200 bill for the splint they put on after my my first post op, haha.

 

[Road Rash]

It was two separate breaks. The first got me four weeks in plaster and about that long to fully recover. The second was a bit harder because there was some displacement. Six weeks and maybe eight weeks light duty. Both were from motorcycle crashes!

 

[budman]

We talking ankle here!! ???

If a bone why the MRI to find it?

 

[Cappuccino]

We talking ankle here!! ???

If a bone why the MRI to find it?

Uh, yeah, ankle bone.

X-ray showed the fracture, but MRI showed that it was rotated. Xray just showed there was a fracture.

 

[tgrrdr]

I'm glad I finished eating dinner BEFORE I did a google image search on "talus".

:green

 

[Cappuccino]

Jeez, I don't even wanna think about it, much less see pictures of it.

I'm having a hell of a time with range of motion recovery right now. I can barely bend my foot 90* to my leg (like the above photo), and it hurts like a mother when I do. Hurts the muscle in front of the bone. Don't know why.