Simon Barratt

Achilles Tendon - Stitches out

Last Wednesday I had my cast and stitches removed, all 20 of them, and got to see the extent of the damage for the first time! I now have an ugly, 6" scar, up the back of my calf, which looks like a laced up boot!
Not a pretty sight!  The doctors seemed pleased with how well it is healing though!  In fact they were so impressed that they offered me the option of a boot instead of the planned cast.  After discussing the details of the surgery more, and understanding how I could damage it and what not to do, we agreed on the boot.

I can now remove the boot and begin some very simple stretching exercises on my tendon - which is very stiff!  There is not much movement yet, but the more I move it now the less stiff it will be in 3-4 weeks, when the next phase of the recovery begins.

The ability to remove the boot is great, but it is a lot more bulkier than the cast.  This mean I have no choice but to remove it when getting dressed, otherwise my trousers won't fit over it.  But, I can now take showers - with extreme caution!