My Operations-1962

On February 27, 1962 I had to go back into Children's Hospital to have one foot at a time operated on. They had to do a tendon transplant or what they call a "Jones Procedure".
They did one foot at a time so that I'd be able to use crutches. I thought it would be a piece of cake, after all, it was only my foot. But I was wrong. That was the worst pain I'd ever felt in my life. I didn't realize, at that age, that all the nerve endings are in your feet. It hurt like hell for a few days. There was a cast on my foot and up to almost my knee. My toes were visible except my big toe had a steel pin sticking out from it and there was a stainless steel cover over it to protect it from being hit. They had to fuse the first joint in my big toe. The one closest to the toenail.
My feet had been deformed. I'd always walk on the front of my feet which caused that area to look bigger. I sort of walked on my toes all the time or at least it was easy for me to do that. So they cut tendons and transplanted them from one area to another. When it came time to take the first cast off, I could see where they had cut. The top middle of my foot had stitches and the top of my big toe and up the outside of my foot. Also underneath, in the center, of my foot was a little wire sticking out. Guess that was holding the tendons till they healed. And then fusing the toe with that steel pin. The second cast was put on and then I could walk on it. They had taken all the stitches out and had pulled that wire from the bottom at that time too. But the steel pin stayed in my toe till the second cast came off. This all took about three months.

The doctor's wording read:
Re: Operative diagnosis: Old polio foot with cavus deformity, weakness in the anterior tibial tendon and early great claw toe. Done by Dr. L. J. Strobino and assisted by Dr. E. R. Green.
Operation: Arthroidsis, terminal phalangeal joint, great toe left: peroneus longus transplant to the dorsum of the forefoot and transfer of the extenser hallucis longus to the neck of the first metatarsal. (Quite the doctor's language huh?)

I sent away for my medical records so could read some of them. The micro film it was on must have been rotting away though because a lot wasn't readable. All faded. But I was happy to get what I did.
This is exactly what was written on March 2, 1962. The operation on my left foot. As much as I could read anyway.
"With a tourniquet placed high on the left thigh, inflated to 500 mil. of mercury, the leg thoroughly prepared with PHiohex and Zepharin, draped to expose the region of the foot and ankle, surgery performed as follows:
Great toe approached first. A transverse incision was made across the dorsal crease, carried down through the skin and subcutaneous tissue, the extenser tendon completely incised.
Joint opened, cartilage denuded. A small Kirshner wire was run through the distal phalanx, through the joint, fixing the joint firmly in extension. The second incision was made between the first and second metatarsal rays, carried down through the skin and subcutaneous tissue, the first extensor tendon was found, retracted through the second incision. Second incision was then carried deep to the first metatarsal. The first metatarsal was resected superiosteally, drill was taken and the cleft was made across the first metatarsal neck. The extensor longus was run through this defect in the neck and securely fastened to itself with 20 silk suture material.

Next, an incision was made over the lateral aspect of the foot, just proximal to the base of the 5th metatarsal. The peroneous longus tendon was found and divided at this point. Another incision was made over the musculo-tendenous junction of the parenlongus muscle, lateral side of the leg, carried down to the union of the muscle. Muscle retracted through the first incision to the.........
(That is as far as I could read)
March 17, 1962
Patient of Dr. Strobino's, admitted on 2/27/62, discharged this date. Patient had an early cavus foot with the etiology polio imbalance. She has loss of the anterior tibia muscle with an overpowering peroneous and prominence of the first metatarsal head on the plantar surface of the foot. On 3/2/62 an arthrodesis of the terminal interphalangeal joint of the great toe was performed, peroneous longus transplant and a transfer of the extensor hallucis to the neck of the first metatarsal. Patient tolerated all the procedures well.
Two weeks post-operatively she had casts removed, stitches removed with the exception of the pull out sutures in the plantar surface of the foot. Patient then had another cast applied, crutches were given and is to return to the hospital two Saturdays following discharge, at which time the pull-out suture can be removed and a short leg cast with a walker can be applied.

3/31/62
Patient is now 4 1/2 weeks post-op. Peroneous longus transplant and Jones procedure. Cast removed, pull-out sutures removed, walking cast applied. Patient to return to school on Monday. Will be able to walk on the cast at that time. She is to return in six weeks, at which time, the cast will be removed and a short leg brace with Klenzic lift will be applied. I believe that we have a second hand brace here which will probably fit the child, for a limited period of time. E.R. Green M.D.
4/28/62
Patient is now seven weeks post-operative. The intermedullary pin was removed from the end of the great toe. This bled slightly and a bandage was placed on.
Satisfactory fusion of the inter-phalangeal joint seems to have taken place. The patient to be admitted at the end of five weeks for one week's time. During this period she will have physical therapy for training of the new transplants and a spring brace applied to the leg to act as a lift for the period of three months for these transplanted tendons. E.R. Green M.D.

Then I was admitted again on June 16, 1962 for the right foot to be operated on in the exact same way.
The last notes written about my foot operations was written on 9/5/62 by a Dr. L. Lewis. He was a resident doctor at that time, as was Dr. Green. He had left by this time. They only stay so long at a hospital and then move on to another one. Dr. Strobino was the ehad doctor at that time and these guys trained under him.
9/5/62
At this time, the patient has worn her left short leg brace for approximately three months, following removal of her previously applied left plaster, short-leg cast. She has undergone a ilateral peroneous longus tendon transplant to the dorsum of the foot, in conjunction of the great toes, bilaterally.
The left short leg brace should now be able to be removed and the patient not require the use of it any longer. As a result, the brace is being switched over to the right side, where she has been using, for the last two to three weeks, the posterior shell, as a rear splint, of her previous right, short-leg walking cast. This will be discarded as soon as Mr. English makes the nescessary adjustments to place the left, short leg brace on the right shoe. She will then use this for the next three months, as a short leg brace.
At the present time, she is just a few days short of 12 weeks post-operative for her right foot tendon transplant procedures. She will continue using the right short leg brace until she is approximately six months post-op.

That is the last time I saw a doctor. Never went back again except for at a clinic once in Ilion. They looked at my feet and told me to come back if I ever had any problems. Guess I never did. Not until 1996 when my legs started getting very weak.
I don't have many photos from this time but what I have I added here. During that time my cousin, Jane, had broken her leg. So we were standing side by side at my Aunt's house when these photos were taken. I don't have the originals. I had copied them on paper one year and sent Jane the originals. That is why they are not good. In the other one I am sitting on our porch with the first cast on.