Foot Drop And Fusing An Ankle

Hi, i'm new here and hoping I can get some advice. My dad has asked me to try to find some information for him about his condition. I'm no doctor, and i'm describing things for my dad, so bear with me please.

To start with: my dad got hodgkin's disease when he was 20 or 21. (actually today is his birthday, he just turned 55) he had radiation for the hodgkins.

In 1993 (i think) he had quadrupal bypass surgery. His arteries were were clogged from the radiation. In the surgery, they took veins from his legs and arms. (i think that's right, I was only 7 or 8 when he had the surgery, so I don't know many technical details from it)

not long after (possibly a year, maybe sooner) he started to notice he couldn't control his right foot as well. He can't control the up and down motion of his foot, which I guess is foot drop. It was a slow process but it's gotten worse and worse. He went to duke after he noticed it, and they ran all sorts of tests. I don't know exactly what they were, he just told me they poked and prodded and couldn't really come up with anything. :roll: they tested to see if the radiation effected him there and they could find no signs of it. He still has all feeling in his foot, though it is slightly worse than the left foot. At that time, the only thing the doctors could conclude was that they possibly clipped a nerve during the surgery.

My dad has had quite a few braces. He had a very expensive custom foot drop brace made that goes from the knee to the toes with a hinge at the ankle. He says this one doesn't do much to help him. He has quite a few of the $20 type ankle braces, and says they work just as good as the custom one. He walks with a cane now, and his walk is getting much worse. At this point, he walks with the whole right leg rotated from the hip outward. He flexed the hip and knee more than normal, and slides the foot along the ground, so he (hopefully) won't trip. I was looking at his shoes about a month ago and one side was drastically worn down. I believe it was the inside. His foot itself is getting warped looking, and i'm worried about hip trouble.

After many many years, I convinced my dad to take control of his situation and go back to duke (he's very stubborn and thinks no one can help him). So in august, I went to duke with him to visit a neurologist. He did a few tests that didn't amount to much, and tried to get my dad another custom brace. :roll: after he said no to that (if it hasn't helped in the last 12 or so years...It's not going to help now!) the doctor suggested fusing his ankle. At this point, that sounds like a good idea. I don't know much about it, but it doesn't seem like things could get that much worse. My question was will my dad be able to learn to walk correctly again, since he's been walking crooked for so many years.

We've tried and tried calling the doctor back. It's been about 6 months. His secretary just keeps saying he's working on finding someone to talk to about fusing the ankle. Come one now...Does it really take 6 months to find another Dr. At duke to talk to??

This is why my dad asked me to try to find out some information for ourselves. We've waited for years for some new technology, surely it's around by now?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Or if anyone has an idea of somewhere else my question might be better answered.