Dr. William Braaksma Performs Total Ankle Replacement, Helping Patient Continue Career Pain-Free

Mary Corwin, a 54-year-old semi-truck driver from Yale, Michigan, has suffered from severe ankle pain for many years. Wanting to find a permanent solution to relieve her pain, Mary began her search for answers and was referred to William Braaksma, M.D., at Orthopedic Associates of Port Huron.

Dr. Braaksma is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and the only fellowship-trained foot and ankle surgeon in the region. He ensured that Mary tried nonsurgical treatment options like braces, activity modification, and cortisone injections first. However, when no relief came, they began looking at surgical options.

“Mary had post-traumatic ankle arthritis,” says Dr. Braaksma, “which means she sustained an injury to her ankle that resulted in the cartilage wearing away and arthritis developing. We talked about doing either an ankle replacement or an ankle fusion.”

Needing to retain the ability to pivot her ankle to continue driving her semi, Mary underwent a total ankle replacement performed by Dr. Braaksma.

The procedure, which was developed in the 1980s, has made significant headway in the medical field as an option for patients to keep motion in their ankle, now including the use of CAT scans to allow for higher precision and custom implants.

The procedure went well, and after suffering from ankle pain for years, Mary was relieved to find a treatment that not only relieved her pain but also allowed her to continue her career in semi-truck driving.

“Now, I can walk without pain, without a brace, and without my ankle giving out,” says Mary. “I can even pivot and everything. If I ever have to have it done on my other ankle, I’d do it again. Coming from a nine to ten pain down to a zero says a lot about the procedure.”

To learn more about total ankle replacement or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Braaksma, please call (810) 985-4900.