Re: welcome Robin/tendon surgery

[Guest guest]

Hi Robin -

My son (about to turn 14) had heel cord extension surgery (achilles

tendon) when he was 5. The surgery worked well for about 18 months-

ish and enabled him to walk heel to toe in a normal gait. It was

wonderful to see. The doctors felt that as he grew and put on body

mass the tendon would continue to be stretched and permit him to

walk with this gait permanently. Well, that was not to be for him.

Slowly the tendon shortened up again. It is my undersanding that

they could do the surgery again, but after a while there is nothing

left to extend. I may be wrong, but it would seem to me that

transplanting a tendon might be necessary when the original tendon

has nothing left to give. The disease can cause the tendons to pull

up short again...I'm going to do somemore research on this now that

you have brought up the topic....interesting....

Does your daughter wear AFOs? That's the battle I have with my son

currently. He doesn't want to wear anything that makes him look

different.