Mike Owings
I'm sorry to hear your sister has been diagnosed with Osteonecrosis. It's not a whole heckuva lot of fun. There is no difference in Osteonecrosis and Avascular Necrosis. Both are the death of bone, in your sister's case, most likely the talus. I suffer from this ankle disease as well and I'm working on my third surgery since 1995. Please try and bear with me as I write this. I'm on some pretty potent painkillers and coherency isn't really my strong suit right now.)Try contacting the National Osteonecrosis Foundation. If you're looking for personal experience, I can offer a bit of my history with the disease. For the most part, it's not something I deal with. I have had 2 bone decompressions with no lasting success. Most of the time, it's doesn't hurt too bad. I can go a year or two with no problems. Then my ankle gets a bit stiff and sore. After a week or three of an achey ankle, the pain gets really bad. Lots of pain, very stiff to the point of limiting mobility. It's my right ankle so it can keep me from driving as well as walking. Currently, my right ankle is bad enough that it's keeping me off work. I'm disabled for the time being, three weeks and counting. I haven't had any luck with the bone decompressions as a lasting treatment. I've had two and, like clockwork, I'm back on the table in 2-3 years. Each time my ankle gets scoped, my range of motion is limited a bit. Right now I have about 20% loss of range of movement, probably due to scarring. Physical therapy helps a bunch with getting range of motion restored, though. I'm meeting with my surgeon on Friday to see what other options are available to me. Your sister and I count for a very small percentage of osteonecrosis patients so finding a surgeon in your area that has experience with this disease, especially in the ankle, isn't that likely. The website I mentioned can help. So is talking with a variety of surgeons. The procedures for treating ON are similar to procedures for other diseases. My advice to you and your sister is to get as much information as possible in advance of speaking with a surgeon or selecting a procedure. Get a second opinion, maybe even a third. Also, don't let my experience with bone decompression remove that option. It must work on occasion or they wouldn't do it. I haven't had any luck but I'm a 28 year old fat man who smokes heavily and gets his only exercise by pushing his luck. Someone more svelte or athletic may respond beautifully to bone decompression. Hopefully, this information doesn't come too late. If you have any other questions, feel free to e-mail me. Good luck to your sister and family! Mike