About Osteoarthritis of Ankle
Key Highlights
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Specialized care focused on the unique anatomy and growth plates of children and adolescents.Aims to preserve the natural ankle joint and delay more invasive procedures until skeletal maturity.Utilizes a stepwise approach, prioritizing non-surgical management to minimize impact on development.Tailored surgical techniques designed to correct alignment and reduce stress on damaged cartilage.Multidisciplinary approach involving pain management, physical therapy, and nutritional counseling.
Who is this surgery for?
- Persistent ankle pain and stiffness in a child or adolescent unresponsive to conservative care.
- Confirmed diagnosis of ankle osteoarthritis via imaging (X-ray, MRI), often secondary to trauma or congenital conditions.
- Significant limitation in daily activities, sports participation, or walking ability.
- Progressive joint deformity or malalignment contributing to cartilage wear.
- Underlying conditions such as juvenile arthritis, osteochondritis dissecans, or skeletal dysplasias affecting the ankle.
How to prepare
- Comprehensive evaluation including detailed medical history, physical exam, and imaging studies (X-rays, MRI).
- Pre-operative counseling with the child and parents to discuss goals, procedures, and recovery expectations.
- Possible pre-operative physical therapy to strengthen surrounding muscles and improve joint mobility.
- Nutritional assessment to support healing and bone health.
- Pre-admission tests as required and cessation of certain medications (e.g., NSAIDs) as advised by the surgeon.
Risks & possible complications
- General surgical risks: infection, bleeding, blood clots, or adverse reaction to anesthesia.
- Nerve or blood vessel injury around the ankle, potentially causing numbness or circulation issues.
- Stiffness, incomplete pain relief, or failure of the procedure to halt arthritis progression.
- Damage to growth plates (physeal injury) in younger children, potentially affecting bone growth.
- Need for further surgery in the future due to disease progression or complications.
Recovery & hospital stay
- Initial period of immobilization with a cast, boot, or splint to protect the surgical site.
- Strict elevation and pain management in the first few days to reduce swelling.
- Gradual, supervised return to weight-bearing and mobilization as guided by the surgeon and physical therapist.
- Structured physical therapy program crucial for restoring strength, flexibility, and gait.
- Long-term follow-up visits to monitor healing, joint function, and skeletal growth.
- Activity modifications and possible use of supportive footwear or orthotics during recovery.
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Typical hospital stay: 1-3 days
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Expected recovery time: 6 weeks to 6 months (highly variable based on procedure)
Frequently Asked Questions
If you are considering osteoarthritis of ankle in Turkey, these questions and answers can help you make a confident, informed decision.
Top-rated hospitals in Turkey with pediatric orthopedics departments and experienced surgeons are ideal for this procedure. Use MediFyr to compare facilities, reviews, and doctor profiles before you decide.
Look at the doctor’s years of experience, hospital association, patient reviews, and how often they perform osteoarthritis of ankle. MediFyr helps you compare pediatric orthopedics and book consultations online.
The overall cost depends on hospital category, surgeon’s experience, room type, implant or device used (if any), length of stay, tests, and post-operative care. Our team can help you get cost estimates from multiple hospitals before you decide.
Procedure cost in other countries
Here is an overview of how the estimated cost, hospital stay, and recovery time for osteoarthritis of ankle compare across other countries where we have data.
Rohan Sharma is a 16-year-old high...
Rohan Sharma is a 16-year-old high school soccer player from a sports-focused family. He has been playing competitively since age 8 and dreams of a college scholarship. For the past two years, he has experienced increasing pain and stiffness in his right ankle, especially after games and practice. Despite rest and physical therapy, the pain became constant, and an MRI confirmed severe post-traumatic osteoarthritis from multiple untreated ankle sprains. His pediatric orthopedic surgeon recommended an ankle arthroscopy with debridement and possible microfracture to clean out the joint, remove bone spurs, and stimulate new cartilage growth. Rohan was terrified the procedure would end his soccer career. The surgery went smoothly, and he began a strict, months-long rehabilitation protocol. A year later, while not pain-free, his discomfort is manageable with activity modification. He can run and train, though at a lower intensity, and has shifted his focus to coaching younger players. Emotionally, he journeyed from anger and despair at the potential loss of his identity as an athlete to a mature acceptance, finding new purpose in staying connected to the sport he loves.