bunion removal..DPM or Orthopedic surgen?

kelly fabian · Guest

I have a large bunion on my right foot...I have been contimplating surgery and am wondering which doc is better...orthopedic surgen or a DPM?? please help.

cpri · Guest

i just had bunion surgery about three weeks ago - and I had an orthopedic surgeon do the surgery.....so far, it has not been that bad --- I'm glad I had it done and I am planning to have the other foot done in June....The worse part is the first three days after surgery

germdawerm · Newbie Joined: 09 Apr 2007 Posts: 23

where did u find your orthopedic doctor at and is he good it sound like he did some good results on u. also the first 3 days were painful after that its ok whast kind of painkiller do they give u

Guest · Guest

I'm writing this 3 days after my second bunion surgery; hopefully my experience will spare another of the time, expense and pain I underwent. My first bunionectomy was done by a top-flight orthopedic surgeon in Newport Beach, CA (a UCLA graduate). He performed what is known as, the McBride soft-tissue reconstruction to correct a bunion on my left foot. I chose an orthopedist over a podiatrist thinking the former to be superior in education, experience and ability. I thought I was getting the best possible care at the time, although there was much pain (the first few days were the worst) and I used crutches for weeks following the surgery. In addition, I underwent extensive physical therapy. Although the preliminary evaluation after my surgery looked encouraging, within 1-2 years, my bunion came back. This time around I choose the podiatrist I should have picked in the first place. He informed me that I needed a chevron osteotomy (cutting of the bone and fixation with a screw), a procedure I should have had originally instead of the soft tissue reconstruction chosen by the orthopedist. I had the chevron osteotomy performed on Thursday, it's now Sunday (3 days later) and the contrast between my 2 surgeries is already enormous. The pain is minimal, and I didn't need the Vicodin prescribed (Advil is sufficient) whereas the first time around I took as much Vicodin as possible to aleviate the excrutiating pain. Furthermore, I can already walk on this foot remarkably well so that my mobility is already better now at 3 days than it was 3 weeks after the first operation. Although it's still too soon to draw long-term conclusions, I'm nothing but optimistic at this point. So my advice is to pick a good podiatrist and run, don't walk, from any othopedist who recommends a McBride procedure for anything more than the mildest bunion. Remember, podiatrists work on nothing but feet; this is their specialty and I believe them to be hands-down (or should I say feet-down?) the best. Even though I learned this the hard way, I hope someone else facing my situation may benefit from this hard-learned lesson.

starcaster · Newbie Joined: 11 Jul 2007 Posts: 1

One month ago I had bunion surgery (with the screws) as well as staypegs (to help correct flat feet) on both of my feet. I went to a podiatrist, but I made sure to do my research on him first. I was able to walk on both feet the first day of surgery, not that I wanted to. The first day I felt absolutely no pain, then the second and third day I felt some, but not bad at all. The range of motion excercises to promote joint flexibility hurts the most, but is not bad enough for pain medication. I am back in shoes, starting to walk normal again. It will still be a few months until I am back to normal activities, such as running. Hope this helps a bit.

bunion removal..DPM or Orthopedic surgen?

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