The best way to start the New Year 2015 is to begin recovery from my Endoscopic Gastroc Soleus Recession Surgery CPT code 27687 for my diagnosis code: 736.72 defined as–Equinus deformity of foot acquired– performed by Dr. David Gent, DPM of Kitsap Foot and Ankle Clinic at the Pacific Surgery Center, in Poulsbo, WA. This surgery was for my Gastrocnemius and Soleus Equinus (contracture) of my left lower leg affecting the dorsiflexion of my ankle and contributing to Pre Achilles Tendinitis. This contracture (see Wikipedia for details) in combination with my confirmed 4mm of structural leg length discrepancy with this left leg has affected my walking gait and ultimate compensation patterns up my spine. For new readers, here is the link to my prior medical blog in my Short Leg Syndrome Category of this website leading up to this surgery along with my prior Thanksgiving 2014 Spiritual Blog.
Even though my walking gait has been compromised for a long time, I still was able to enjoy the Christmas Holiday with far less pain than the last few years. I was able to stand and enjoy my singing in Christmas Contadas with pain only in my lateral forefoot from overloading due to the Gastroc Equinus. Hence the reason to get this surgery done and over with. Also before Christmas, I had my diagnosis confirmed by Dr. Alm, my local foot doctor, in Lewiston, ID. Dr. Alm confirmed the lack of dorsiflexion of my ankle involving my Gastroc muscle and he too concurred that I should benefit greatly from this Gastroc Surgery. After the holiday festivities, my husband and I set off for Bremerton, WA to see Dr. Gent on 12-29-14 for my pre-surgery office appointment.
12-30-14 – 8:30am at Pacific Surgery Center, Poulsbo, WA here is my Youtube video of Dr. Gent marking my leg before surgery. My husband thinking in his terms of cutting up an Elk or Deer leg after hunting was joking with Dr. Gent about slicing my fascia.
Here are the two pages of the surgical report for Left Endoscopic Gastroc Resection:
Gastroc Surgery 12-30-14, pg 1
Gastroc Surgery 12-30-14, pg 2
Here are the Endoscopic Camera Surgical Photos, (click on photos to enlarge)
For some humor, I was so glad Dr. Gent was very precise and didn’t treat my leg like my husband treats a Deer Leg after hunting trying to cut the fascia off the meat.
Here is my YouTube video of Dr. Gent visiting me after I was well awake in the recovery room. The surgery was about 40 minutes and Dr. Gent said there was a good release of the muscle and complete full-range ankle dorsiflexion after the slice through the Gastroc and Soleus Aponeurosis. Surgery started before 9am and I was back to my hotel around noontime. The surgery was done under General Anesthesia. My lower leg is very comfortable in its plaster splinting and ace wraps and my TENS unit leads are applied underneath for help in pain control.
I would describe my pain as a heavy pressure on back of calf but not sharp like a surgery I’ve had with fixations into the bone. It felt like a very tight muscle with spasm type feelings. Thanks to Dr. Gent’s surgical skill I had no nerve irritation symptoms whatsoever from the nerve bundles passing close to where the Endoscopic instruments are placed in leg. Dr. Gent had already told me that he was trained on this procedure early on when this Endoscopic version came out along with his prior experience doing the open version of gastroc surgery.
The only pain medication I took was 10mg of Diazepam and then 6 hours later 5mg of Diazepam all the while elevating my leg. By evening Dr. Gent was able to get me Flexeril 5mg lowest does(cyclobenzaprine) which is a muscle relaxant used to treat skeletal muscle conditions such as pain or injury as the Diazepam was not quite strong enough for the muscle spasms. I took one Flexeril and 1000mg of Tylenol and was good for the night. I never had to take the narcotic pain medication he had previously prescribed. Besides this protocol, I did have my husband massage my toes and behind my knee with my Young Living Essential Oils of Wintergreen, Aroma Siez and Clove Oils. I always take an Arnica Homeopathic Formula for trauma for several weeks after any surgery. I iced at first behind the knee, but as I continued to deal with muscle spasms, I stopped the icing. I then applied my rice heat packs wrapped around my toes and behind my knee the rest of the day and into the night. For me, heat is so much more comfortable when you deal with muscle spasms. I do not take anti-inflammatory medication because I believe that the inflammatory process is the healing process as long as a patient elevates their leg.
12-31-14 -Here is my Youtube video 24 hours after the surgery. I am required to be non-weight bearing for a minimum of 3 weeks to allow for healing of the muscle. Dr. Gent will then let me know the rest of his protocol as we go along. So I have new designer color crutch pad covers purchased thru www.castcoverz.com and I continue to use my Cheetah print short leg cast cover. After all, a women has to maintain her style in any way possible during this rehab process. Animal prints are my favorite and of course they make covers that men would appreciate too such as camouflage.
I was able to go all day without any medication and only took one 5mg of Diazepam at 5pm not necessarily for my leg but more for my hinney due to muscle tightness from sitting on it all day. My husband and I went out to the Aladdin Palace Mediterranean Restaurant for our New Year’s eve dinner. When I came back to hotel, I received an unexpected phone call from Dr. Gent checking up on me. He was on his way home after another long day at the office. This act of kindness in placing followup calls on his post surgery patients is to be highly complimented. These details do help patients cope with the recovery process. I know what I’m talking about because many patients contact me through my website and are desperate to have more communication regarding their surgery or post surgical recovery process. I continually tell Dr. Gent that all his professional courtesy/kindness he shows me gets Paid Forward into other patients around this country!
My next blog will be after I see Dr. Gent for my follow up appointment on Jan 2nd. Dr. Gent plans on doing PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) injections into my surgical site to promote more healing.
I thank all my Facebook friends and family that have prayed for my surgery. My web designer has now added the Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube Icon connections to my website. I always desire to give hope and inspiration to others that face similar surgeries as I have experienced. Please see my homepage for my entire medical journey posted thus far. Stay tuned as I continue to post my recovery process or just subscribe to receive automatic notifications of future blog posts
