post op bunion surgery

hara · Newbie Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 15

Hi everybody. I’m taking bunion surgery in 10 days (yes, I’ve finally decided to get done with it) and now I’m gathering all info I can gat on it. I really know almost everything about the process itself, how much it will hurt, how long it will take and what doctors will do… Basically, I know what to except after the treatment but I’m interested if anybody here had it could tell me more on post op recovery. How long did it take for you?? Was it painful? How long you were not able to walk normally??? Thanks for all replies.

curt · Newbie Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 13

I had it 3 months ago and I assure you it is no big deal. Yes, you feel pain some time afterwards but it is not bad at all. I would rate it not more than 3 on a scale of 0 to 10. Moreover, pain is noticeable almost only when walking. There will be some swelling, though, and you’ll probably have to take something for it like Ibuprofen or Advil. On the other hand you will need a bit more time to get back to normal, especially walking. For me anything more than two blocks was tiring and uncomfortable. But that too did not take too long – after one month I was as good as new. Good luck

Jo · Newbie Joined: 28 Mar 2006 Posts: 2

bunioncomments · Newbie Joined: 04 Aug 2006 Posts: 1

Some first-hand comments for anyone who is contemplating bunion surgery.

My wife had bunion and bone spur surgery on her right foot almost eight weeks ago. Her surgery was done by a top-flight orthopedic surgeon and she has followed every instruction (elevating foot, exercises, soaking, etc.) given to her. Also, she is a role model for physical fitness and she was used to working out at the gym at least five days every week.

Almost eight weeks after her surgery, she still can not wear shoes and, if she is up on the foot for more than 30 minutes, it turns red, has a burning sensation, and swells up. Her surgery did not require a pin to be inserted into her toe.

To say the least, we thought she would be much further along at this point. The doctor’s office now says that it might be up to eight months before the swelling subsides enough that she can wear shoes again.

Apparently this is on the outside range of what to expect, but not totally uncommon with foot surgery. (Incidentally, all of my wife’s post surgery x-rays have been completely normal and her surgery appears to have been quite successful, except for the pain and discomfort she is experiencing.)

Our advice to anyone contemplating this surgery is that you really carefully weigh your options and the risk to reward ratio.

Unless you are totally hobbled by your bunion, there is, in our opinion, a very good chance that you might be so inconvenienced by bunion surgery as to never reach even a break-even point in terms of a pay-back for what you will endure, plus the associated risk that you might actually end up worse off than before you had the surgery.

But, if you decide to have bunion surgery, please prepare yourself (especially mentally!!) for the scenario where you could be laid up for about six months, since, based on doing a lot of reading during the past three weeks, it is apparently not at all uncommon for it to take six months to recover from foot surgery and, in some cases, it can take a full year.

It has not been easy to watch my wife break into tears several times each day because of her frustrations over her foot surgery and the pain and the inconvenience that it has brought. We wish that we had better researched the ramifications of this surgery, because maybe we would have chosen not to do it. Knowing what we know today, it is a 100% certainty that she would not have done it.

As of today, we are just hoping and praying that she will ultimately at least get back to where she was before the surgery, but the prospect of six more months of being house-bound or wheel-chair bound seems quite daunting at this point in time.

lja324 · Newbie Joined: 07 Aug 2006 Posts: 2

I to was very frustrated after having my surgery.
I had bone spurs removed from the tops of both feet and had planned on having my worst bunion fixed which was on my rt foot but the podiatrist said if he was going to do surgery on the left i should have that bunion done also so i did not knowing what would be the outcome. The surgery went well but according to the post op instructions i could get up and walk after 3 days which i did and some how caused the screw to move in the rt toe and two fractures Now, I have had to have a second surgery done on that toe and there are wires sticking out of the top of it and a cast on it and a huge walking boot on my left foot. I also cry alot as I am very active and it has caused alot of frustration when i have to stay down so much with my feet elevated. I have had anxiety attacks to where i thought i was going to die because i couldnt catch my breath. I finally got the dr after two weeks to put a shorter cast on the rt and a shorter walking boot on. I have to use crutches and a wheel chair if i go anywhere. The worst was my Dr humiliated me in the second surgery in front of everyone saying that i caused the fracture when he had told my husband and I that the bone in that foot was mushy. I didnt want to go back to him and am having a hard time dealing with my visits to him. I dont get the wires out til i am 4 weeks out from the 2nd surgery. I am a very active person and that has kept me in the house and totally frustrated.

Guest · Guest

I think there are different ranges of progress. I had bunion surgery 9 days ago and have a screw in my bone. I am walking with a tiny limp, and no crutches just 9 days later. Im still in a post surgery boot. I took pain medixation for 3 days post op with a lot of pain on day 2, with slight pain after that. Every case is different. I took 'Arnica' which may be helping....a homeopathic tablet for swelling and bruising. My main recommendtion is to find a surgeon with a great reputation.

Guest · Guest

I read all the posts on bunions and hammertoes and need both of my feet done. At least the one that I cannot wear regular shoes because my toe crosses over and it hurts so bad so I have been wearing huge ugg boots to give me lots of room. I cannot wear any other kind of boot but huge slippers and it is quite embarrassing to try and dress up and have to sear slacks or long skirt as I have to wear this pair of black boots. I want the surgery but am really wondering if it is now the best thing to do. I am 62 years old and keep putting it off hoping they will come further and do better jobs. I cannot walk very far without my bunions hurting and I get terrible cramps trying to make another hammertoe on my other foot. arches cramp and toes cramp....is this normal...I guess I need more information about this surgery and perhaps some doctors are better than others. MY aunt had it done on both feet and she said she was back up and about in a few weeks and it went fine for her and she is 20 years older than me but had it done 40 years ago too....so I just don't know what to think.

Guest · Guest

Sweetie, you sound as if you're having real problems there! Your saying your hammertoe is agony, you can't walk far without your bunions bothering you - even in Ugg boots? Honey, the time has come - don't wait another moment for better solutions to develop!

You're only 62 - you should be able to walk for miles, dance, play tennis, wear pretty shoes, even heels sometimes! Get the surgery booked, asap.

In the meantime, try to keep the joints mobile - exercise your toes, and have your bunions massaged when they're hurting.

Good luck!

Susan

Guest · Guest

As long as post op procedures were followed accordingly, one would not encounter problems w/ healing after bunion surgery. Also, my doctor, chief podiatrist in a hospital, never advised me to have both feet done at the same because she said I would feel useless, worthless, and would try to walk earlier and it would impede the healing process. That was the best advice ever. I wanted to be off work for two weeks only, she gave me a month or she would not do the surgery. She was right. I followed every post op procedure. I was literally crying on my bed because I could not do any exercise etc... but it was worth it!!!

germdawerm · Newbie Joined: 09 Apr 2007 Posts: 23

my question is ofr jo form new york i just wanted toknow were both your feet hurting and was it painful u say it wasnt that painful. also u got both feet done at the same time. let me ask u how many hammertoes did u have on each foot and was your bunion severe i too haave to get this done and im 22 years old my bunion dont hurt but i dont want it to get worst and my hammertoes i wanna get fixed my i ask how old were u when u got this done and u got it cause you couldnt take the pain no more i have pain but really under my foot for some reason and i belive maybe cause i have bad flat feet also where did u got to have this done in newyork and did u or your doctor recomend to do both i dont wanna go through the process over again i rather do 2 feet and get it over with but a doctor i seen said do 1 at a time were u recomended to do so or chose to and did u have to take the pain medication they gave u were they strong and do they take away the pain

post op bunion surgery

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