PANAMA CITY — Daily walks were put on hold in 2009 when retired Army Sgt. Maj. Mike Mead could no longer suppress the pain in his left ankle.
A total ankle replacement, one of the first done in Bay County in the past decade, has given the career solider relief from the pain and a return to his walks.
Mead took three one-mile walks a day with his dog, at least until this time last year when the pain kept him off the walking paths. He is slowly building up his strength to return to his longer walks. He currently can walk about a mile a day.
Dr. Shayne Jensen of Gulf Coast Podiatry Foot and Ankle Surgery Center, who performed the ankle replacement, said Mead’s pain was caused by a lack of cartilage in his ankle joint, likely caused by osteoarthritis. In July 2010, Mead was implanted with the INBONE Total Ankle Replacement from Wright Medical.
“We have total knee and total hip replacements — why can’t we have total ankle replacements?” Jensen said.
The “second generation” ankle replacements have been around for about 10 years but Jensen waited for the research before performing a total ankle replacement. The research is showing that with the right candidate 10 years out, there is a 70 percent success rate, Jensen said.
“It went really well,” Mead said. “Before the surgery I could not put weight on my left foot. I think the dog got frustrated with me on our walks. I thought I could handle the pain but I finally went to see my doctor.”
Jensen performs 10 to 15 ankle fusions a year, which he said is still the “gold standard” for treating ankle problems. An ankle fusion uses pins and plates to fuse the ankle joint, and patients lose range of motion in the ankle joint.
The total ankle replacement uses an artificial prosthesis to offer patients better mobility.
“It looks good, it healed well and it works,” Jensen said.
For Mead to qualify as an ideal patient for the total ankle replacement he had to give up smoking cold turkey. Jensen explained with replacements there is a higher rate of failure with smokers and he would not consider the total ankle replacement on a smoker.
“It is important to use the right indicators for your patients,” Jensen said. “This is another modality.”
If a patient is obese, diabetic or has several misalignments, the ankle fusion is still the better option, Jensen said.
Mead’s recovery included two weeks when he could not put weight on his ankle and three months of physical therapy. Mead, who has also had a knee replaced, said the ankle replacement was less painful but the recovery took longer. Mead, Jensen and others on the walking path are impressed by the progress made following the total ankle replacement.
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