Important Context: We need to emphasise that I am not a doctor and this is based on lived experience following a 10 hour orthopaedic foot reconstruction and extensive research.
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    •11 Weeks Post-Op

    Week 11 Post-Op: Navigating Wound Complications and the "Hidden Danger" of CMT

    DH

    Damien Harrison

    CMT Patient & Advocate

    I am currently around 11 weeks post-operation from my March 5th foot reconstruction. My latest clinical updates from the past few weeks mark a significant pivot in my recovery journey—shifting from standard bone fusion to managing a localized wound complication.

    Table of Contents

    1. The Healing Successes and the Moon Boot

    At my 7-week review, I hit a major milestone: my cast was removed, X-rays confirmed the bones were fusing satisfactorily, and I transitioned into a moon boot. Sensation and movement have slowly started returning to my foot.

    My deep heel crevice, which was originally the size of a 50-pence piece, successfully responded to debridement and medical-grade honey dressings. It has shrunk down to the size of a 10-pence piece with a healthy wound bed.

    2. The Recent Setback: Delayed Healing and Infection Risk

    While my heel wound improved, my lateral wound (where my heel bone was cut) has struggled. By Week 9, it was gaping and filled with hard yellow slough.

    During my most recent Week 10 appointment on May 23rd, the clinic noted a delay in healing and that the wound had become "malodorous" (foul-smelling). This is a classic clinical indicator that bacteria have colonized the open wound.

    3. The CMT "Hidden Danger"

    Crucially, my latest notes explicitly mention that I have "no significant pain." While this sounds like a positive, it is actually a dangerous feature of Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease.

    Because CMT causes peripheral sensory neuropathy, my nerves are not sending the appropriate pain signals to alert me to the infection. My strict adherence to attending my dressing clinics is what successfully caught this issue before it became systemic.

    4. The Clinical Team's Coordinated Attack Plan

    My surgeon, Mr. Rashid, and my specialist practitioner, Lindsey Sorlie, are tackling this aggressively:

    • Targeted Antibiotics: They are consulting with microbiology (likely from a wound swab) to prescribe highly specific antibiotics to clear the infection.
    • Plastics Consultant Review: Because the foot has very little spare tissue, they are bringing in a plastic surgeon in the coming weeks to evaluate if advanced closure techniques are needed to finally seal the lateral gap.
    • Upgraded Dressings: My wound was packed with Aquacel Ag+ ribbon, an advanced silver-based antimicrobial dressing designed to absorb infected fluids and continuously kill bacteria deep within the wound crevices.

    What I Need to Focus On Now

    To fight off this infection and promote skin closure, my metabolic demands are exceptionally high right now. I must maintain my strict nutrition protocol, heavily prioritizing:

    • Vitamin C (500–1,000 mg) and Zinc (15–30 mg) for skin repair.
    • Whey Protein and HMB to combat the calf atrophy I noted when my cast was removed.

    Most importantly, I must continue to rigorously "offload" the foot out of the moon boot as much as possible so that mechanical stress does not pull the fragile, gaping wound edges further apart.