Rena911 – Did you ever get treatment for your neuroma? After about 6 months of other treatments (injections and various orthotics/padding), I had decompression surgery in March 2007. I was told I’d be “back in high heels” after 3 weeks (actually, I don’t wear high heels) and chose MIND (aka EDIN – Endoscopic Decompression of the Intermetatarsal Nerve) surgery because I thought it would be less risky than the traditional surgery, where they remove a piece of the nerve. With EDIN, they do not remove the compressed nerve, they take pressure off of the nerve by releasing the ligaments surrounding it. This is similar to the treatment they do for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Some podiatrists refer to Morton's Neuroma as "CTS of the foot." I'm told that it is most effective in patients who have had symptoms for less than 3 years. Three months after the surgery, my foot was still quite swollen, I was limping badly, and had much more pain than before the surgery. The surgeon gave me more injections (cortisone?) and told me to come back in another month. At the 4 month mark (still having more pain & symptoms than before the surgery), the surgeon bluntly announced that the first surgery didn’t work and “we” should just go in again and remove the affected piece of nerve. I told him I had to think about that. I went to another podiatrist and after 6 more months of treatment (many injections, orthotics/padding, but no more surgery), I am still looking for pain relief. Right now, I am told to “avoid walking” until the neuroma (also called neuritis and I’m told I also have capsulitis) is “fixed.”
I don’t mean to depress you, or discourage you from decompression surgery, which I’m told is successful about 90% of the time, I’m just giving you my story. It didn’t work for me, and left me worse than I was before the surgery. I would exhaust all other options before trying surgery. Many people find relief from the traditional or newer surgery; I’m still searching. Don’t give up – keep trying till you find something that relieves your pain. |
