Renee Walks without Pain after Ankle Fusion

Описание: Four years ago Renee Peek of Rainsville, AL, fell while sweeping some steps and shattered her right ankle. Eight surgeries followed over the next two years including an ankle fusion. When she was referred to Dr. Jesse Doty last August, Renee was walking with a cane and in terrible pain.

“Unfortunately the fusion never healed and was mal-positioned so her foot was crooked,” Dr. Doty said. “And she was bearing weight on the outside of the foot.” A previous diagnosis calling for amputation was not out of the question given the state of her ankle and her level of pain. Instead Renee opted for an innovative, but challenging, solution to bring re-alignment and relief.

Dr. Doty performed a complex, two-stage operation, first removing the previous hardware and eliminating an infection. In the second stage, he did a Tibiotalocalcaneal Fusion (TTC Fusion), a combination of fusing the ankle joint and one of the foot joints at the same time.

In this step, Dr. Doty rebuilt bone mass using grafts from Renee’s hip and injected bone marrow aspirate (BMA) to concentrate and expand the grafts. This ensured Renee had adequate growth factor and stem cells to stimulate healing.

Today Renee is a new person.

“Now I can walk without crying. I can play with my grandbabies and enjoy life,” Rene says. "Dr. Doty was a God-send.”

Learn more at https://www.erlanger.org/FootAndAnkle