New to the site and currently in an IPEB for bronken ankle

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forum but I have been reading for a few days now and there seems to be a lot of good information here. The problem i am having is there doesnt seem to be anyone who had the same injury as me. Let me provide some background info. I am a Marine Sgt who has been in almost nine years now. I am currently stationed in 29 palms, ca. last oct i was sent to sufolk, va to a civilian course that has to do with labs that find ieds. I was in the last week when i suffered a severe broken ankle. after fighting the naval docs at porstmouth naval hosp. i was sent back to 29 palms in a temp cast. i was told i would need a plate and screws in my right fibula. i had broken it at the widest part of the ankle. i was in dire need of surgery to keep from a lot of major problems in the future. i had no problem doing the surgery so of course i accepted it. i was sent home for 56 days of conv leave and returned in feb of this year. i went through phys therp with little success and to this day have a lot of pain and still have swelling in my tibia (which was not broken, but one doc suspected i had torn the ligaments on that side and even went as far as to tell me they would scar back over, which does not sound healthy in anyway. The surgeon said he didnt think it was torn but never even looked at it so it was dropeed) anyways the end of my second LIMDU was coming up and after talking it over with the surgeon he and I agreed that a PEB was the best route and I want to get out. There is no way i can continue in the infantry field or the Marine Corps for that matter basicly living on percocet. I went through all the process to get my package sent off and it was recieved the Tues after labor day. Well my PEBLO told me on monday that he had recieved a fax stating that my case would be looked at this week. Now the main questions I have are this;
1. I know this is purely specualtion but does anyone have an idea of the most likley outcome of my findings? i.e. fit vs unfit and percentage wise what i may be looking at if found unfit.
2. If found unfit will i get travel money like i have in the past with PCS orders?? (married with 2 small children)
3. and basicly what is my timeline gonna look like if found unfit? i want to be back in oklahoma ASAP because i have a job waiting for me if i do seperate and it wont last forever.

anyone with any idea of how this COULD go down I would greatly appreciate it. me and my wife are about to go crazy sitting here and i have so much stress sitting and thinking of all the possible outcomes. And once again I know that every case is different but anyone elses imput that has actually been throught the process would at a minimum give me some peace of mind. thanks a lot for your time, Semper fi
 
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1. What are the conditions the MEB has deemed as failing retention standards? If we know what exactly they are evaluating it is much easier to give a guesstimate of your finding.

2. Yes, you can do all the government reimbursable transportation.

3. Depends on the nature of your findings (retirement vs. separation), how quickly orders come down, and how quickly you can outprocess. I was Army and out about 30 days after receiving my findings.

Let us know any more questions you may have. Hopefully you get a good result from the PEB. Good Luck.
 
as far as the conditions failing standard, I was told the chances of me being able to run for any amount of time are next to none. This is a problem due to the fact im an infantryman let alone the basic PT standards the Marine Corps has. It also makes it tough for me to do my job wearing a flak and kevlar and doing foot patrols on an ankle that has very limited ROM. I do know that on ROM i did not fall into what the PEB considers normal. I will post the actual ROM in a little while when i get back from formation.
 
Below I've pasted an excerpt from the VASRD for rating the Ankle. As you can see, your ROM plays a big part in the rating. Keep in mind, the PEB must apply the VASRD when rating your conditions.

THE ANKLE

5270 Ankle, ankylosis of:

In plantar flexion at more than 40º, or in dorsiflexion at more
than 10° or with abduction, adduction, inversion or eversion
deformity 40

In plantar flexion, between 30º and 40º, or in dorsiflexion,
between 0º and 10º 30

In plantar flexion, less than 30º 20

5271 Ankle, limited motion of:

Marked 20
Moderate 10

5272 Subastragalar or tarsal joint, ankylosis of:

In poor weight-bearing position 20
In good weight-bearing position 10

5273 Os calcis or astragalus, malunion of:

Marked deformity 20
Moderate deformity 10

5274 Astragalectomy 20
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i will post a few things on my report


20deg dorsiflexion and 45deg of plantar flexion

now mind you when i was evaluated for my ROM i was on a lot of oxycontin (i was seen on the spur of the moment and did not know my Dr was going to put the PEB in) and if i read everything correctly it goes of your pain threshold for ROM. so in short my ROM is actually worse without painkillers. Is this correct?

this is what my surgeon put in the report:
It is in the opinion of the board this members current medical condition of his right ankle interferes with his assignment in the Marine Corps despite his successful surgery and rehabilitation. patient continues to voice right ankle pain with prolonged impact activities. This case is referred to the PEB for for determination of duty.


so if im reading this right as far as my ROM goes im looking at 40%?
 
if you have 20deg dorsiflexion and 45deg of plantar flexion this is normal. I was separated for ankle problems -20deg dorsiflextion, I received 20%. I have not spoken with anyone that has received a medical retirement for ankle ROM. Did they write up anything else in the NARSUM?
 
Welcome to the site, you have found a plethora of information.

good luck
 
Just came across this thread. I too have ankle issues that started my whole MEB process. My "best" ROM for my ankle are 10 degrees dorsiflex and 14 degrees plantar flex. Along with traumatic arthritus the cause of my ankle pain is 7 torn ligaments and ligament complexes. I'm waiting on my IPEB results just hoping they rate me fairly according to the VASRD. I was curious does anybody know what is considered "Marked" reduction in ROM.? Anyways good luck Coruptjosh.
 
There is the million dollar question. I have looked and could not find what the difference between marked and moderate. I feel that ankle problems are way under rated. I wish you the best, please keep posting.
 
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