DAY 18

I wore the Aircast for 1 week, and my ankle hurt less every day.  The Aircast reduces weight & pressure on the ankle, but it also inhibits normal walking motion, so it causes a lot of fatigue. It also caused some pain and soreness in my legs, thigs, and gluteus maximus (yes, my butt).  I took the Aircast off when I was at home.  I wasn't allowed to put full weight on my foot without the Aircast yet, but I began to put a bit of weight on my bear foot to tested it out.  To my surprise, it didn't hurt much.  My doctor transitioned me from the Aircast to the Air-Stirrup ankle brace (seen below) 3 days ago.  With the ankle brace, I finally get to wear my own sneakers!  My first few steps didn't hurt at all.  After walking for about 1 block, it started hurting a bit and aching.  Everyday I can walk longer without pain.  I push myself to walk until I can't bear it anymore.  This is good as it builds up scar tissue and gets your foot used to it's new corrected position.  Once it begins hurting a lot... I rest about 5 minutes and can walk again without pain. It's important to step normally and not favor the operated foot. Walking down stairs (not up) and on uneven not-level surfaces hurt the most. I'm in NYC, so there's plenty of uneven sidewalks and stairs :(  I'm walking normally on the outside of my foot for the first time in my life, so my foot is a little swollen at the end of the day.  I don't get many shooting sharp pains anymore.  My foot just feels very achey.  I take anti-inflamatories and ice it, and by the next morning it's back to normal. When I think about it... Just 2 weeks after my surgery, and I'm walking around in my own sneakers... amazing I think :)

DAY 9

I was in a half-cast for 8 days following my surgery.  I was not allowed to put any weight on my foot during that time.  I went to the doctor yesterday who removed the cast and bandages.  I had no swelling and my foot looked great.  It was straight and my arch didn't collapse.  I was only able to put a tiny bit of weight on my foot, so I won't know if my fallen arch is corrected until I'm full weight bearing. However on a inspiring note, a tiny bit of weight is all it took to collapse my arch before the surgery.  I was put in an Air Cast (seen bellow) and finally allowed to walk on my foot.  The first 2 steps were very painful, but then every step after that hurt less and less.  I walked around for short periods sporadically for the rest of the day.  By the evening, many of my steps didn't hurt at all, although every 3 or 4 steps did still produce pain.  The pain was bearable though... about a 6 out of 10.  I didn't walk too much as it was the 1st day I'm walking and I didn't want to overdue it - it's best it ease into it.  I got home and took off the Air Cast, and my foot still had no swelling.  Things are going great.  I hope it continues this way :)

MY BACKGROUND

I'm a 33 year old fit male. I've had flat feet all my life.  They have always caused pain and discomfort.  I've worn custom orthotics since I was 17.  The orthotics helped relieve my pain and discomfort a bit, but as I reached my mid-20's I started getting chronic lower back, sciatica, and knee pain.  By the time I reached my 30's, I was suffering from sciatica and lower back pain almost daily.  I need to use a lower back support pillow almost every time I sit.  After standing (with or without orthotics) for more than 20 minutes, I always experience some level of pain or discomfort.  My posture is also a bit slouched due to my flat feet. So, now that I'm still young… i opted for the Hyprocure Implant as it's the newest and seemingly best designed stent on the market and has a high success rate.  To perform the surgery, I chose Dr. Jeffery Kass who has a practice in Forrest Hills, NY. He's a great doctor who has performed the most Hyprocure stent implant surgeries in all of New York.  He has tons of experience, answered all my questions, and is a truly caring physician. I decided against the alternate reconstructive flat foot surgery because it's very invasive, has a history of complications, and of the length of recovery (1 year per foot) is too long.

DAY 5

I have no pain and my foot feels very loose and good.  I'm mastered using the crutches but am really sick of being confined to the house.  It's summer so for a change of scenery and to enjoy the weather, I take the journey down the 4 flights of stairs with a friend.  We just sit and chill in front of my apartment building.

DAY 4

I have no pain at all.  My foot feels pretty loose and I can put partial weight on it to balance when I'm standing up.  On a mental note, I'm getting extremely stir crazy as I live up 4 flights of stairs and so I barely leave the house. Who would've thought the most painful thing about this surgery was being cooped up in the house for a week :(

DAY 3

I woke up with some pain for the first time and my foot was throbbing a bit.  I took anti-inflamatories and the pain soon subsided.  My foot feels less tight and swollen, although the half-cast and bandages prevent me from actually seeing if it's swollen or not. However the Ace bandage feels as it's wrapped too tight and I have some numbness in my toes and on the side of my foot.  My doctor tells me this is common and to just loosen the Ace bandage myself. After I loosen the bandage, the numbness and tight feeling goes away.  Since the half-cast is covering the surgical area, I can't ice it.  Instead, my doctor tells me to ice the back of knee as the capillaries to the foot run through that area and it will have the same effect.  I accidentally put some weight on my foot a few times and it hurts a bit, but nothing severe.  This entire procedure has brought me little to no pain. Maybe this is because I'm a boxer, and my tolerance for pain is high.

DAY AFTER SURGERY

I wake up with little to no pain, but my foot feels very tight and a bit numb.  I'm in a half-cast and must use crutches which is a uncomfortable as I'm not used to it.  I avoid the crutches at first and just hop on my good foot to get around, but that ends up putting too much strain on my knee and ankle so I use the crutches more frequently.  I take anti-inflamatory pills (twice daily) and 1/2 a pain killer to take the edge off.  So the implant doesn't pop put or migrate, I'm not allowed to put any weight on the foot for a week.

DAY OF SURGERY

*I'm not allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight the night before.

I'm put under local "twilight" sedation.  This isn't supposed to be as strong as general anesthesia, but it still knocks me completely out for almost the entire procedure (about 20 mins).  I wake up near the end while the doctor is adjusting my foot and then stitching me up, but I feel no pain.  My mouth is extremely dry and I'm thirsty, and because of the IV I also have to pee badly.  Strange combo :)  The doctor applies a half-cast (not a full cast - I can remove it if needed) and Ace bandages, then I'm off to the recovery room.  I'm groggy for a few hours following.  I feel little to no pain, but the area just feels very tight.