5 Weeks

Today marks five weeks since I picked up the temporary leg. Of course there was an adjustment period, but it seemed like I was making progress every day. Within the last few days, however, I've started getting some soreness from the tibial crest. It's pretty astonishing how quickly the volume of my leg has changed over the last few weeks. The downside is that the relatively sharp edges of the tibial crest are visible, which is an indication of how little soft tissue there is between the bone and the skin.

Here's a picture, showing how the leg looks today, versus post-operatively:




My prosthetist has been trying to adjust the socket by heating it and having me step into it -- this allows the plastic to conform to any bony prominences. Unfortunately, whatever is causing this soreness is probably not from the pressure against the socket. Even with the adjustments, I'm still getting those "whoa" moments. Best guess is that I was over-socking, causing me to "hammock." This probably put a lot of shearing forces on the skin over that sharp bone. Luckily, I still have plenty of percocet left for this sort of thing.

I'm going to be re-casted Feb 8th for the next socket, so I'm optimistic that a new socket will really solve this. I think the basic problem is that I've lost nearly 1.5 inches in circumference in my leg since I started wearing this socket. Too much walking with an ill-fitting prosthesis is always a bad idea, so I imagine most of my pain right now is residual.

Things will get better.