I have no advice for skin but wanted to say congrats on the big win last night.

Was there any sort of surgery on the side of your foot, as I am hesitant to suggest any scrub for that area...the leg/shin area you can try ‘baby feet’ but be prepared it will look like you are shedding like a snake. If the foot can handle it use there as well.

Surgery? Why yes! Had a thread back a little ways. Had some post-surgery pics.

Here's the x-rays!

Faron

In that case DO NOT apply baby feet around the still healing incision area. Skin is an amazing covering that keeps all the insides in and bad stuff out - but only keeps the bad stuff out when we don’t compromise it’s capabilities. And holy cow that must have hurt like fire to have those pins in. I was only 3 when I broke my arm on an old school sprinkler head (solid metal, it was the 80s) but by the time my parents got home and took me to the ER, it was a compound fracture (bone sticking out through skin) - the poor baby sitter thought I was just being difficult about taking a bath!

Cereve is excellent to speed up exfoliation. Either that or you can soak it and softly brush the skin when softened but not around the surgical site. You can use a very soft tooth brush.

Hi Guys! Took 1st "leg shower" since cast came off. Used a gentle shower-scrub DW had. Scabs fell off pretty easy. After lotioning.....looks a little better!

When I had my knee surgery (ACL replacement) I didn’t have a cast, but the physical therapist told me to massage pure cocoa butter on the incisions, using as much pressure as possible, for about 5 minutes or at least once each day. It really helped to break up the scar tissue associated with the stitches. I would think you could use the cocoa butter on the skin as well. I believe The brand was Palmers. I bought a bottle or tube, but there was also a stick which came in handy for carrying around. The tube was a little more greasy but I didn’t care.

I would try a gentle exfoliant scrub in the shower for a day or two, followed by the cocoa butter. Your skin should return to normal soon.

It looks LOADS better! Aquaphor is a good moisturizer/skin softener and is what my dermatologist approved for wound healing, so it won't hurt your wound sites. I apply liberally to feet and hands and cover with socks/fabric gloves for 30 minutes to overnight.

Both CerVe and Aquaphor are available in different size containers.

SO appreciated you guys!! I'll see if we have these mentioned products in town!

Faron

I had ankle surgery in March and had a cast for a few weeks.....my leg and ankle skin looked similiar to yours, maybe worse.....I found it needed exfoliating, then moisturizing......I took a couple of long showers (that were a treat after the cast came off) and while in the shower, I used my Clarisonic on my leg and foot......worked like a charm - got so much skin off it was almost gross and later bought a new brush head for my face:) I think any scrubber (even clean 3M sponge with green side or a medium strong hand brush would do it.....that old skin is not going to "come back"......it needs to "go away".....and fyi I'm 64 so we are talking "youthful" skin here on my leg.

One other comment - it has taken MONTHS to get that calf to recover to a similar size as the other one......I was quite shocked at how quickly one's muscles can atrophy. My legs were quite "buff" from extensive exercise and then the one looked like a "peg leg"......My dr assured me it would come back but at a later appt he said legs do come back in strength but not always in size / shape and smiled as he said I may need a calf implant - ha, ha......it is nearly back (almost nine months later) but it has taken a LOT of work/exercise and I have a LOT of work left to do......you too?

Hey- we need a photo warning on that thread title! :) Glad your leg is getting better.

sunkissgr, I had a foot injury and really knocked myself out of wack with my limping. After weeks of suffering, I went to a few physical therapy sessions and they did the trick. The therapist was able to hone in on what was causing the continued problems and help me figure out how to correct the issues.

Thanks, d_gw......these injuries are a pain! I had tendon tears (that I "worked around" for a year) repaired in my surgery so I was in PT for some time afterward......they got the ankle moving and me moving as well but that leg wanted to be extra skinny.....I do a lot of ballet so my calves were a bit more "developed" than some. Your dog is too cute!

Sunkissgr, good to know the atrophy is normal. I noticed it a week into a splint then boot and have been tamping down that anxiety for 4 weeks.

Yes, I sure have a skinny shin & calf now!!! Looks so crazy!

Still trying to get my right shoulder stronger after the Rotator-Cuff this April 20th. It's doing very well. Gotta get some heavier weights now!

Surgeon said there's no PT needed. My calf muscles will come back, but I wanna get-'em stronger. Foot-bones need to heal a little more tho'.

Sure is nice to get that damn cast off!!!

Faron

that is really an awful pic for us all to have to look at each time we open this forum. I'm sorry for whatever it is that's wrong with you but that photo is too graphic. If you move it down in the thread a bit it won't appear unless someone actually opens the thread.

After I got my cast off last winter, my leg/foot looked much the same, if not worse. The cast was to my knee. I was horrified at my leg's appearance! After defoliating and moisturizing A LOT, it finally began to look its old self after about 4 weeks.

I, for one, was interested to see the photo so I could compare it to what mine had looked like. I wish it had been available to me to see then!

The picture doesn’t even qualify as awful ... just dry skin on a post surgery foot. Without showing us a photo he might not have received the best advice.

CeraVe SA lotion.

http://www.cerave.com/Our-Products/Moisturizers/SA-Lotion-for-Rough-and-Bumpy-Skin

I just squirt Cetaphil lotion on a hot wrung out washcloth and go to town. Most of the old dead skin comes off that day then I try real hard not to fuss at it but once a day. It's a lot like a peeling sunburn. It needs to go but let it come of when it's ready. Moisturize heavily after and put a thick sock on.

When I got the casts off my feet decades ago I was delighted when the calluses came off along with all the old skin so look for that. Ask if you can soak your foot, don't submerge that scar unless you clear it with your medical team. And it happened that a talk show had a segment on how to massage feet that week which was heavenly even if I did it myself.

I am SO SORRY some people "yiked" at my pictures here! I didn't think they were graphic. The incision pic showed up a little redder than it really is, after 6 weeks. IRL, it looks pretty boring.

I had shared the "staples still in" pics here I think....a month ago??? They were more revealing I think.

Again, to those who thought "icky", I'm very sorry!!! I have no idea how to move a pic around here!

Faron

Faron, I was not offended either. It helped to see the problem. Don’t worry about it.

The title says it all. Are there people in this world that haven't seen how awful skin looks when it is trapped under a cast for weeks and weeks.

Don't read my last sentence if vivid metaphors upset you

Hands look far worse because the skin is more flexible which translates to what looks like a frozen river breaking up in spring.

I had the similar or worse following my broken ankle & very long time in a splint. My leg was painfully squeezed to the point that I could hardly make it through the day due to the pain of being squeezed. 2 years & 3 months later I still have peeling on the bottom of that foot. My lower leg is still smaller. I do exercises every day. Countless lifting up on top toes. Still cannot get leg to right size. I use body butter on the foot nightly. Still hoping to reach normalcy.

I broke my right ankle a few years ago, went through surgery, cast for nearly 4 months. My right leg looked like a stick from muscle atrophy. The skin looked worse, with an icky wax-like coating covering the skin. It took a few days to shed all that. The muscles took much longer to strengthen.

It's been three years. I wonder how Faron's leg is. 😉

Lol!!! Haven't looked at GW for a while! Here's that surgery foot today.....🤪😈