I had surgery in Nov. of 2007 attempting to fuse my right ankle. My own leg bone was used. One of the two screws broke at the site and it did not fuse. The surgery was repeated in Nov. of 2008, the screws were removed, a larger amount of bone from my hip was used, the screws were replaced by large staples, and again it did not fuse. The staples have pulled out of the bone and they are to be removed on Friday this week. Since the surgeries have begun my foot, ankle, and lower leg to the knee have been continuously swollen to a very large extent. My surgeon doesn't know what's causing the swelling. We've had various tests done, I've seen 3-4 doctors in other fields of study, but no one seems to know the answers to the problems. Do you have any suggestions as to why the fusion isn't happening, and any suggestions on what else we can try?