Years ago I had surgery to remove my 2 big toe nails and their roots. After about 6 weeks I was back to normal with no pain.
For about 10 years I have been suffering with one other toe that had a fungus toe nail and a callous at the end of it. When I was on my feet for a long period of time I would have pain and have to get off of my feet and elevate my foot for awhile to get rid of the pain.
After seeing 4 doctors who each said I needed hammer toe surgery to relieve the pain at the end of the toe, I finally had the 4th doctor perform the surgery on June 14th, 2011. I expected it to be healed in no more than 6 weeks but with swelling for up to a year, as I was told.
On November 7, 2011, still being in pain, I went back and the doctor agreed that the nail was ingrown so a procedure was done to eliminate the ingrown nail. After another 6 months, still being in pain I asked again about having the nail removed. So on April 12, 2012 the nail was removed but not the root. The doctor said that the nail could grow back normally.
The next procedure, since I was still in pain, was on May 8, 2012 when a procedure was done while the toe was numbed. With a liquid (I don’t know what it was); a Q-Tip was pushed up and worked under the cuticle on that toe to destroy the root.
It is now June 4th. I can’t even shop in the grocery store for more than a half hour without getting swelling and pain in that toe. I am still using ice to get the swelling down on occasion. I doubt the results would be any different with a different doctor because 4 doctors told me I needed hammer toe surgery. My surgery anniversary date is in another week. Do you think it will miraculously stop hurting on JUNE 14, 2012? If I could start over again, there would not be a Hammer Toe Surgery for me. Don’t do it!