I Am Having A Subchondroplasty On My Heel To Address

Posted on Tue, 27 Nov 2018

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 27 Nov 2018 Answered on

Last reviewed on

Question : I am having a subchondroplasty on my heel to address a stress fracture that has not healed since April, 2018.

How long will the procedure likely take. 10 minutes? I understand they will cut the back of my heel to place the medicine. How painful? thanks,
XXXXXXX Miller

Answered by Dr. Dr. Yogesh D (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
It could take an hour but can vary significantly.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

Welcome back to Ask A Doctor service.

Subchondroplasty can take anywhere between 30 minutes to 1 hour in total, but the actual time taken depends on a lot of intraoperative variables and the relative experience of the surgeon performing procedure.

One can never predict in advance how long a procedure will take, even minor surgical procedures that are completed in 15 minutes usually at times take a few hours because of unforeseen findings during the procedure.

The important thing is, the doctor will not compromise the patient safety to finish the procedure in a set time.

You will hardly feel a thing during the procedure as you will be administered an anesthetic (either local of regional).

After the procedure, you will be given pain killers for many days so that you can recover well.

I hope you will find this information useful.

Best regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D