What You Need After Foot or Ankle Surgery

Because this is what you will almost certainly be handed, and the only one of the four Medicare pays toward — but it asks more of your shoulders, wrists and balance than anything else on this page.

DMI Universal Adjustable Crutches

The default nearly every hospital source names first — and the one Medicare actually pays toward, at $57–$89 a pair.

• ✓AOFAS's own fitting instructions, quoted directly: two fingers under the arm standing, handgrip at the wrist crease — the exact fit check to run before your first walk.
• ✓One pair fits users from 4'6" to 6'6": push-button height adjustment in 1-inch steps, plus three underarm-tube positions, so most adults skip a separate size purchase. Rated to 300 lb.
• ✓HCPCS E0114 — Medicare pays $57.17-$88.73 with a prescription, and this one code carries 44,541 of the roughly 46,000 total crutches claims Medicare paid nationally in 2024, about 31 times every other crutch code combined.

How we chose it: We checked 2 crutch picks — this push-button DMI pair covers users from 4'6" to 6'6" in one pair, with cushioned underarm pads, padded hand grips and non-slip rubber tips.

One flaw (not a dealbreaker): Crutches load your underarms, wrists and hands. The crutch pads further down this page are the cheap fix for sore underarms, not a reason to skip crutches.

Because it is the main alternative to crutches, and the one thing it needs is a knee that tolerates kneeling on it for weeks.

Roscoe Medical Knee Rover Steerable Knee Scooter

Rest your knee on the pad and roll instead of hobble — the real tradeoff is Medicare pays nothing toward it, while the crutches below cost far less and are covered with a prescription.

• ✓The American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society's own patient site: "You place your knee on the pad and roll yourself forward using handle bars to balance and steer" — named directly as a crutches alternative, not a novelty.
• ✓350 lb weight rating, 8-inch wheels with a steerable front, a dual knee pad, adjustable handlebars and knee height, and a detachable basket for keeping your hands free. Folds for the car.
• ✓Knee scooters fall under HCPCS E0118 — the same code Medicare uses for the iWALK hands-free crutch further down this page, and E0118 had zero national Medicare claims in 2024.

How we chose it: We've verified 3 knee scooters on this site — this steerable Roscoe Knee Rover is the standard 4-wheel shape, not the all-terrain or budget alternative. We have not checked this exact model against Medicare's PDAC product list.

One flaw (not a dealbreaker): Two real recalls exist for this exact product category — a 2012 Invacare rod-collapse issue and an open 2024 Medical Depot tiller-separation recall (neither is this pick) — check any borrowed scooter's brand and model first.

Because one hospital's own instructions are blunt about it: elevate your leg 23 of the first 24 hours home.

MEGCXIT Leg Elevation Pillow

Under your calf, above your heart — for a week where one hospital wants your leg up 23 hours out of 24.

• ✓Erlanger Health System's own booklet, verbatim: "At home, we want you to elevate your leg 23 out of 24 hours a day for the first week."
• ✓The ankle-ORIF discharge sheet and Kaiser Permanente each independently instruct elevating above the heart — the same instruction as Erlanger's, above, across all three procedures covered here.
• ✓The listing says it is made for after surgery, including knee, hip and ACL surgery; a groove keeps your legs from sliding off.

How we chose it: This is the one pick here with no second option to compare. It is the same pillow we recommend after knee surgery: a long wedge that raises your calf and foot.

Because once the cast is off, a knee-shaped gel pack won't wrap around a swollen ankle — but while the cast is still on, this is the wrong purchase and elevation is the one that works.

REVIX Ankle Ice Pack Wrap

Wraps fully around the foot and ankle with three straps, hands-free, instead of balancing a flat pad in place.

• ✓Kaiser Permanente's ankle-fusion page: 10-20 minutes at a time, cloth barrier, leg propped above the heart while icing.
• ✓Three adjustable straps hold it in place hands-free while the foot is elevated — the knee-shaped pack we recommend elsewhere doesn't fit a foot or ankle at all.

How we chose it: We checked 2 ankle/foot ice wraps. Both are a different REVIX product line from the knee-shaped pack we recommend elsewhere. We compared the listings directly.

One flaw (not a dealbreaker): Straps that wrap fully around swelling can feel tight in the first days — loosen them rather than forcing a snug fit over a freshly swollen foot.

Because a cast or boot has to stay bone-dry through weeks of normal showers, and a hospital's own booklet says a garbage bag isn't your only option.

Asunby Waterproof Leg Cast Cover

A reusable silicone seal keeps the whole boot or cast dry through a normal shower — the upgrade over a trash bag and duct tape, not a required purchase.

• ✓Erlanger Health System's own patient booklet, verbatim: "Medical supply stores sell cast covers made specifically for bathing" — named in the same sentence as the DIY garbage-bag method, not instead of it.
• ✓Fits an 11-24 inch leg/knee/foot/ankle circumference, reusable rather than single-use.
• ✓Three other hospital sources (Genesis Orthopedics, UF Health, the Achilles discharge sheet) each independently describe a different DIY fallback — a plastic bag, a sponge bath, plastic wrap — so this is a convenience upgrade, not the only way to keep a cast dry.

How we chose it: We checked 2 waterproof leg cast covers — this one's own listing names foot, ankle, and knee surgery specifically, not just a generic 'cast cover.'

One flaw (not a dealbreaker): A seal only works if it's actually sized to the leg — measure the circumference at its widest point (11-24 inches on this pick) before ordering, not just the general 'adult' label.