I have a chronic Achilles tendinitis issue (caused by what's called Haglund's deformity) that requires surgery and I'm on the hunt to find a really good surgeon that knows how to do minimally invasive Achilles / heel surgeries.

Anyone have real experience / recommendations? I live in Katy but will travel anywhere in the greater Houston area for a real pro. Thanks in advance!

I haven't used them but have heard great things about Fondren Orthopedic Group.

David Bloome at Fondren did mine. Also, Kevin Varner at Methodist Sports Medicine is good too.

Isn't dr Lowe the preeminent orthopedic dr in the country? Tons of pros see him, if I'm not mistaken.

Astroag said:

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Isn't dr Lowe the preeminent orthopedic dr in the country? Tons of pros see him, if I'm not mistaken.

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He is but he doesn't do anything but knees, IIRC. He did my son's ACL and has done ACL reconstruction on 4-5 other kids we know, all D1 athletes.

Dr Tim Noonan did my Achilles surgery back in 2009. Mine was a full tear whereas yours is a different situation but I was very pleased with my outcome.

I've heard good things about Dr. Patrick Briggs and Dr. Mark Moss (fellow Ag) from my PT.

Thanks for all the leads so far yall, I'll be doing homework and calling them this week to narrow it down!

Let me know your results. I have this and don't think I chose the right doctor… my foot will never be the same. It's ok for walking etc but that's about it. My teenage daughter has same issue and plays high level soccer... I'd like her to see someone "pro" about what can be done preventively to limit chance of major problem down the road.

Used Dr Bloome on my ankle fracture and he was fantastic.

Texas Foot and Ankle Specialists

I had an Achilles tendinosis problem for quite a while, and saw Dr. Mark Vann with Houston Methodist Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in Sugar Land. Fortunately I avoided surgery, but he was great with diagnosing and getting me walking again. I had found him through a family member that had slipped on some ice and ripped her Achilles off the bone. In their 50's and they recovered fully with no lingering problems from it, after the surgery.

This is a timely thread for me. I have self-diagnosed myself with Achilles tendinitis. As long as I have shoes on, I can mostly walk fine. For those of you that did not have surgery, what did the doctor do for you? I've just been trying to wait it out and hope that it goes away, but it doesn't appear to be getting any better.

This was about 14-15 months ago, and I got to where I could not walk due to the pain in my right Achilles. Dr. Vann took x-rays and said I had some calcium deposits, and possibly some slight micro-tears in the Achilles. He prescribed me some meds (Meloxicam) that I took daily for 30 days. He gave me some pretty high lifts to put in my shoe's under my heel, and I had some exercises that I had to do daily. I was shocked that after about 2-3 weeks the pain was almost non-existent. I was sure I was going to end up needing surgery. I had the pain for over 6 months, before I went in and saw him. After the meds were done, the pain came back a little. I continued with the lifts in my shoe's for the past year and you could say I'm cured now.

I've been fighting it for 6 years. Every morning and night I use a percussion gun massager on the bottoms of my feet and my calves and Achilles. And I stretch a lot. 95% of the time that keeps me pain free. I work out a lot and I'm generally not limited, but I don't do calf raises or jump rope, as those activities guarantee a flare up. I mostly lift weights because I can't road run either (which I'm ok with because I love lifting).

But without fail 1-2 times a year each of my Achilles will have a tendinitis flare up which causes inflammation and pain so bad I can't put weight on the affected heel. I put on my air cast boot and go to my doctor, I usually get a cortisone shot in the fleshy area near my ankle (can't do a shot in the Achilles, it will cause a rupture), and usually pair it with a medrol dose pack. Ice it 5-6 times a day while it's flared up. Minimum 2 weeks in the boot until the inflammation has subsided.

My issues are caused be a bone calcification where my Achilles meets my heel. On x rays it looks like my heel is growing a fang upwards. I will have to get surgery to fix it, but the docs I've been to say the cure they offer is fully severing the Achilles, chopping off the bone and big spur, reattaching it and doing a year of rehab. I want a better option.

This was the exact surgery I had 5+ years ago and I was warned that my other foot would need it as well. I would rather go with a peg leg than go through that again.

We used McGarvey for my son several years ago for some ortho trauma to his lower leg/foot. McGarvey is a Foot/Ankle ortho who practices out of Katy.

I will say that we were referred to him from another ortho for a surgical consult, and Dr. McGarvey was very reluctant to do surgery given my son's age. It wasn't that he didn't want to treat him. It was because he understood that a child's body can do amazing things, so rather than perform a surgery that would alter his life forever, he chose to take a less invasive approach that involved physical therapy, braces, and time. He told us that our son's current state is the baseline, so let's see where he is in 3/6/9 months, and if there's no improvement, then we would have a serious discussion about surgery. Well, I'm glad he took that approach, because there was tremendous improvement over that time, and although he will never be 100%, he has surpassed where the surgery would have taken him.

https://www.utphysicians.com/provider/william-c-mcgarvey/

Also, if you ever need a pediatric ortho, I could not recommend Dr. Lindsay Crawford enough. The compassion and care she and her PA had with my son while also navigating my wife and I through the most difficult time in our lives, I could never thank her enough. She's also an Ag.

And Texas Children's can EAD. 3 horrible horrible experiences with them with my son and daughter. I have more trust in Beutel over them.