22 LEICESTER MERCURY MONDAY, JULY 14, 2014 LDM-E01-S2 LM03leicestermercur y.co.uk

■ Have you struggled with a difficult health problem? We want to tell your story. Contact health correspondent Cathy Buss on 0116 222 4261, e-mail catherinebuss@leicestermercur y.co.uk

EXPERT VIEW:Jitendra Mangwani

YOUR H E A LT H

THE FACTS: OSS I C L E S

OSSICLES are small bones andwhen they are in the anklethey are known as accessoryossicles or extra bones.

Problems occur when thebone becomes displaced -either though injury or repet-itive moment.

Recover ytakes afew weeksJITENDRA Mangwani is a con-sultant trauma and foot andankle surgeon at Leicester’sh o s p i t a l s.

He said: “The ossicles in theankle are extra bones whichform naturally during devel-opment of the skeleton andcan cause pinching.

“The most common is ostri-gonum, which forms next tothe talus or anklebone.

“They can become displacedthrough a sudden injury, orthrough repetitive movement.

“They can also cause a prob-lem if the surrounding tissueis damaged and thickens orswells up to push against theo s s i cl e. ”

The condition causes painbehind the heel, deep in theback of the ankle.

Mr Mangwani said: “It canusually be diagnosed by acombination of clinical tests,an X-ray and an MRI scanwhich shows up the thickenedor swollen tissue.”

Treatment involves remov-ing the bone using arthroscop-ic (keyhole) or mini-open sur-g ery.

Mr Mangwani said: “Anankle arthroscopy is usuallycarried out under general an-aesthetic, usually as a daycase procedure.

“It involves making smallpuncture wounds, either atfront or the back of the ankledepending on where the pa-tient’s symptoms are.

“A small telescope is insertedinto the ankle allowing thesurgeon to see and operate.

“A number of soft tissue andbone conditions can be treatedwith keyhole surgery, for ex-ample, the removal of bonyspurs, ossicles, loose bonefragments or shaving of softtissue inflammation.

“The obvious advantage ofthe keyhole procedure is animmediate start to rehabilita-tion.

“Overall recovery time isbetween six and eight weeks,depending on the location ofthe ossicle and the amount ofsoft tissue repair that was ne-c e s s a r y. ”

My foot ached all ofthe time, but at firstI just put up with it

WHEN MICHAELST E P H E N SO NWAS FOUND TOHAVE AN EXTRABONE IN HISANKLE, KEYHOLESURGERY WASTHE ANSWER.HE TALKS TOCATHY BUSS

Michael Stephenson isback on his feet,thanks to pioneer-ing keyhole surgery.The 43-year-old first

began suffering from problemsmore than a year ago.

His right foot would often bevery painful.

It gradually got worse andworse to the point where hefound it almost impossible towork –or play!

He said: “If I was a footballlinesman for an afternoon Ifound I couldn’t walk for a day-and-a-half afterwards.

“My foot was constantlyaching and if I did any impactsport, it would swell up and bepainful.

“I am not sure why, but I justput up with it.”

As a surveyor, Michael wouldoften find work taking him upand down ladders. Driving isalso a big element of the job.

He said: “It got to a stagewhere my foot was so painful itwas affecting my work – it wasbecoming increasingly diffi-cult to drive and I decided to goto my GP.”

Michael, from Braunstone,was referred to a specialist atLeicester’s hospitals.

He was sent for an X-raywhich revealed there was apiece of bone growing in thewrong place at the back of hisa n k l e.

He had a condition called oss-icles, which meant there wasextra bone in his ankle.

Michael said: “The pain wasbeing caused by nerves hittingthe bit of bone which was grow-ing in the wrong place.

“It seemed to have beencaused by a sporting injurywhen I was a youngster.

“There was nothing you couldsee, it would just swell up and Iwould struggle to do things.”

Michael was faced with threeoptions following his X-ray. Hecould either have a series of in-

jections, surgery or “put upwith it”.

He said: “I was told the sur-gery would be keyhole, withthe surgeon going in throughthe back of the ankle, so I de-cided to opt for that.”

Because of the modern surgic-al technique carried out by ahandful of specialist foot andankle surgeons, Michael wasable to have the operation as aday patient at Leicester Gener-al Hospital.

He said: “I did have to havethree weeks off work and then Iwas based in the office for fiveto six weeks while I recovered.

“I also had to have 12 to 14weeks of physiotherapy.

“I have just started going outon my bike again.”

Michael, who is married withtwo teenage children, added:“It is all fine and it is cured. Theonly thing is, that I have got atouch of arthritis in the footand may have to have more sur-g ery.

“There is also a bit of an issuenow with my left side which Ithink is down to general usagebut it will have to be seen to atsome stage

“At the moment, though, I amgetting back to normal.”

Pain in any part of the anklecan be a sign of the condition.

It is usually worse when theankle is pointed downwardsand some people may feel apainful clicking sensationwhen their foot is twisted inand out.

PICTURE: ALEX HANNAML E A H 2 0 1 4 070 2 D - 0 1 0 _ C

BACK ON HISFEET: Thanks tosurgery, MichaelStephenson hasregained the abilityto take a walkwithout feelingconstant pain