3.5 years after Lisfranc surgery — facing more surgery and honestly losing faith
I wanted to share my Lisfranc “journey” because I’m at a point where I’m facing significant revision surgery and struggling with how much trust I’ve lost in the process.
My injury was originally diagnosed as a sprain, and I walked on it for three months before the Lisfranc injury was finally identified. I was in an incredible amount of pain during that time, but instead of anyone questioning whether something had been missed, I was made to feel at times like the amount of pain I was reporting was suspicious or drug-seeking. I even saw an additional GP who also missed the injury. No one suggested I see a foot/ankle specialist.
Eventually I was referred to a podiatrist/surgeon and had surgery with a plate and eight screws involving my second and third metatarsals. I was told the hardware was permanent.
After a long recovery, I continued having pain and other symptoms that never really resolved. I raised those concerns over the next 3½ years, but they weren’t adequately addressed, so I finally transferred my care to a specialist.
And that’s where this has taken another turn.
The new specialist believes my hardware needs to come out. The problem is that they have never seen hardware like mine and don’t know how to safely remove it, so I’ve now been referred to a limb-salvage specialist to see if they can figure out how to get it out.
I’m also being told I need significant additional reconstruction involving my first metatarsal—another plate and screws, along with a bone-graft fusion involving essentially the entire first metatarsal. My understanding is that this area should have been addressed during my original surgery.
That part has been really difficult to process.
I trusted the surgeon who finally diagnosed and treated me. After three months of being told it was a sprain and feeling like no one believed how much pain I was in, I genuinely thought I had finally found the person who saw what everyone else had missed and was going to fix it.
Now, 3½ years later, I’m finding out that there may have been significant parts of the original injury that weren’t addressed, the “permanent” hardware needs to come out, and the specialist I transferred to doesn’t even know how to remove it.
I know medicine isn’t perfect and Lisfranc injuries can be complicated. But after the original missed diagnosis, having my pain questioned, years of continued symptoms, and now learning all of this, I’ve lost a lot of faith in the medical system.
The hardest part now is figuring out who I trust enough to operate on my foot again.
Has anyone here gone through major revision surgery years after their original Lisfranc repair? Especially involving hardware removal, additional fusion/reconstruction, or a referral to a limb-salvage specialist?
How did you find the surgeon you ultimately trusted?