Tuesday, July 23, 2013

3 Years Later

It's been about 3 years since i've had both Hyprocure implants. Everything is still going great. I have almost completely forgotten I even had the procedures done. I'm able to run, walk on the beach, exercise, take long strolls, etc. completely normally. I'm also able to wear any kind of shoe and/or sneaker... which was impossible before with my temperamental flat feet. My feet are still quite wide. I thought the implant would fix that, but it only made a minor difference. My theory is... my flat feet caused years of improper weight distribution which stretched-out the ligaments and tendons in my feet (see pic below). So even though Hypocure made the weight distribution normal now, the damage has already been done and my ligaments and tendons still stretch out ever time i step... causing me to still have wide feet. As you can in the pic... my tendons are visible in the non-weight bearing pic; and when I step down they stretch-out and then cannot be seen. My foot is about 3/8" of an inch wider when I put weight on it. However, it isn't painful or a problem in any way. I just wear wider shoes or buy 1 size bigger to accommodate the width. Every now & then, I still get minor aches and pains around the implant site. Espcially when the weather changes or it's very humid; the aches can be stronger.


25 comments:

  1. Hi Marko, thanks for the great blog :)

    I'm so pleased that you've been doing well, and i just wanted to let you know it really means a lot to see someone writing down their experience in this for others to follow!

    I have flat feet and slightly knock knees and am trying to determine whether HyProCure might benefit me - after years of being told my only two options were stronger orthotics (which never seem to work) or major surgery (osteotomy), it was actually a little searching on Google that revealed there may be a third option...HyProCure

    The specialist i saw just the other day however didn't even seem to realise that this kind of stent can actually be used in adults like me, he was talking about how plastic stents will break apart in anyone heavier than a child, and didn't know anything about TITANIUM stents.

    I have just this minute sent a query through to the HyProCure website asking if there's anyone near me who is trained for this procedure (I live in Perth Western Australia), but i'm very interested to know whether you had to go to another country to get your feet done?

    Warm regards,
    Brendan

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    1. I live in NYC where there are plenty of doctors trained in this procedure. Hyprocure's website lists all doctors by level of training (beginner, intimidate, master) on this procedure. You might just have to travel abroad to find a doctor who can do it... but if you pain and discomfort matches the severity mine once was... it's worth it.

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    2. Dear Brenden,
      Hyprocure is very recently introduced in the implant market.so surgeons who are trained long ago dont know much about it.further studies haven't been done on long term complications of implants except one case who reported arthritis 3yrs after the placement of implant.But hyprocure started training the surgeons and certifying them.I personally recommend the surgeons who are trained in the procedure because correct placement of implant is as important as having the surgery itself
      Because there are cases which complicate due to wrong implant placement.To find the best surgeon in ur country visit their hyprocure website and send a request with your address and country they will reply you with a surgeon near ur place.if not you can opt countries such as Malaysia .,Singapore thailand where there are surgeons trained in hyprocure as the company quoted to me . hope this helped
      Goodluck mate

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  2. Thanks. That's flattering coming from a doctor. I do have a minor medical background myself.

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  3. Thanks for posting. I'm looking into this surgery for my 12 year old who is severely flat foot and experiencing ankle and knee pain.

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    1. My 12yr old had this procedure done 3mths ago on both feet. He had no pain & still has none. He just got back from six flags yesterday & was on his feet for 14hrs. It has changed his life!!! I am so thankful I found our doctor & this procedure. Make sure you look into a Master surgeon in you town.

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  4. Hi Marko. Thanks for writing the blog. I'm a 30 year old male who has had flat feet all my life. They never really bothered me until the last 1.5 years when I started to train heavily for strength competitions. My right foot has a slight arch and gives me no problem but I have a partially torn tendon in my left foot which makes it overpronate very badly. 2 doctors recommended the osteotomy surgery and I actually had the surgery scheduled in 2 weeks but cancelled today because I read how long and painful the recovery is. I felt I needed time to really research my options. I live an hour North of NYC and I'm going to call your doctor to learn if this surgery might be a better option for me like it was for you. Are you still happy with your decision? Have there been any complications since your last blog entry?

    Thanks again.

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  5. I'm totally happy with the procedure and i've had no complications. however, the mind is a powerful thing and this (or any similar surgery) will be tough if you're a nervous or obsessive person who focuses on every inclining of pain. Some pain is just part of the healing process with this kind of thing; especially as you begin to put weight on it. It could hurt quite a bit initially but that should go away in 3-4 months top. My first surgery (on my more severely flat foot) hurt a lot, but my second didn't hurt at all.

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  6. Thank you Marko for creating this blog and keeping it updated for the last 3 years! I am a 35 year old female suffering the same way you did from flat feet...over the last couple of years, it has become quite debilitating, so even though I waited a year after finding out about Hyprocure, I have finally decided to get the surgery. I am scheduled for next Tuesday for my left foot first!! Thank you again for sharing your story!!!! It really means a lot!

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  7. What is the name of your podiatrist that performed your procedure?

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  8. Glad the surgery went well for you. :)

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  9. I am on my feet all day long for work. My arches are aching by mid shift. Is this something that can be solved by just adding inserts? Do I need to get my feet checked out to check for more damage?

    bryanflake1984| http://www.elmhurstpodiatry.com/library/1813/FlatFeet.html

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  10. you need to see a podiatrist to get a proper diagnosis, but it depends on the severity of your flat feet and your specific pronation. my feet were severely flat and inserts almost nothing, but some people benefit tremendously from inserts. everyone is different.

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  11. Thanks for your blog I just had my right foot done and a bunion removed. I have had flat feet my whole life and they have caused me so much pain that I decided to have it done finding a surgeon about 100 miles from me in davis ca who does it. She only allowed me to do one foot at a time so I'm going back in three weeks ( two weeks now) to have my left foot done. She warned me that it could feel like a sprained ankle. To be honest it barely hurt what hurt more is the bunion I had shaved down at the same time. I'm excited to have the second one done! And feel the full benefits. Already bought new shoes.

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    1. Just had my left foot done and in more pain with this one, but excited to feel the full benefits. It def hurts more this time then the right foot, but not unbearable. My screw in my right foot moved slightly. My doctor said it shouldn't affect anything, but I'm determined to not have this one move. Trying to stay off my feet as much as possible.

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  12. I would like to know if any of you ahad to get custom supports before surgery? Or what was the process or evaluation in order to get it done.

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    1. i had custom orthotics (insoles) since i was a teenager. they provided some relief but as i got older it was less & less. By the time i was in my mid-20's the custom orthotics were doing absolutely nothing. Your body is more resilient during your youth and the pain is less noticeable and severe, but as you get older it likely will get worse & worse. Evaluation is is based on your degree of pain & discomfort correlated to the severity of your pronation (feet's flatness).

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  13. Hey marko how is recovery going? I just had my first foot done and am wondering how it is now that you are four years past aurgery

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    1. read my last blog as it says it all. I'm great and feet feel completely normal. no complaints. Feels as if i never had flat feet.

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  14. I'm glad that your foot surgery has been successful. I've also been considering getting Hypocure implants. I have flat feet, which also prevent me from doing the things that I would like to do, like to running and doing other exercises.
    Bill Li | http://durangopodiatrist.com/about-animas-foot-and-ankle-doctors/

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  15. please answer my question asap thank you

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  16. hello there I was just had a few questions. Did you have a noticeable arch after hyprocure? Can you see a difference in your foot? And did your foot size change??

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  17. These surgeries need ample time to get recovery on and it is necessary to take precautionary steps for swift recovery without any stress.

    Certified Podiatrist Indiana

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  18. I just had this done. My right foot came out better than the left. My left foot is still pretty flat. I'm dissapointed by that.

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