post op bunion surgery

I had bunion surgery two weeks ago on my right foot and I would like to tell my experience as there are far too many horror stories on this site. I think they are extreme examples and the majority of people who have it done are absolutely fine. The reason there are not many success stories on here is that I think people tend to have more to say if things do go wrong.

After the op I was off my feet for one day. On the second day I could walk around on my heel, the third day I was told to put my full weight on the foot which I was unable to do so and I was walking very badly but by the fourth day I was fine. I have had no pain or discomfort and I am going out and walking around ok, albeit with a limp but I think that is more to do with the shoe I have to wear until the bandage comes off. I can move my big toe and it doesn't cause me pain to do so. When the dressing was changed after a week my foot looked great, no swelling and the scar didn't look bad at all. I have a friend who had surgery 6 weeks ago and you wouldn't be able to see the scar if it wasn't pointed out. As it was I had to look for a while before I could see it. I am very happy at this stage and can see no reason why I wn't make a full recovery. If all goes to plan I will have my left foot done in due course.

Hi everyone. I'm a 28 year old guy that has had problems with my bunions for many years and a month ago I decided to have surgery on one of my bunions. My experience has been that the first two weeks, I was in excruciating pain following the surgery, then the pain started to fade away, and after 3 weeks, the swelling began to decrease. It's being over a month now since I had the surgery, and I can now put some weight on my foot, and can walk short distances ( with the boot that my doctor told me to wear ). Despite how frustrating and and anxious I have being through out my recovery, I have to continue to have faith in the fact that this was the solution to an on-going painful problem. --- My question is, is there some sort of exercise I can do to increase feeling and motion on my toe? My foot is still pretty swollen, should I use an ice pack? Thank you.

Hello! I'm 20 and I just had bunion surgery in December 2010. It's the beginning of Feb now, and I'm on my 6 week mark. They had to slice my bone and realign with temporary pins that were pulled out 19 days post op. I still am not off of crutches and I'm in agony (only the last 2 days or so). I was able to get into my walking boot a little bit last week, but since then the pain has been even worse. I don't know why. I do not agree with the person that said it wasn't bad, I think it depends on what you actually have done----there are multiple types of surgeries and they all have way different recovery periods! I thought i'd be done by now, seeing as I normally bounce back pretty quick. I'm quite disappointed that I still can't walk in the walking boot.

hello fellow feet fixers:

I had my operation in NYC 8 months ago but I still have alot of stiffness and discomfort, swelling in the big toe etc. And yes the xrays showed no problem. Has anyone discovered alternative therapies, PLEASE?

My guess is that our doctors/surgeons actually dont have the most sophisitcated appraoch and I wonder if this speciality has advanced enough. So much medical advance seems to follw where the money is (new machines, materials etc) and not new techniques.

Hi,

I had surgery 4 days after you.  And I too have had crappy results!!  I can barely bend my big toe.  I cant get my foot in any shoe except a flat or sneaker.  My feet measure 7 but I have to buy 8!!  Im so upset with the results.  Did you find any help??

Thanks!

I could not agree more!! It's going on 10 weeks for me and I'm still uncomfortable :( I am unable to move my big Toe and have "weird tingly" sensation on my big Toe. I was told I'd be out of work 8 weeks but that is not the case... I also lived a very active life style and enjoyed going to the gym 3-4 days a week. I specifically asked if I would b able to " eventually" be able to return to my active life style and the Doctor didn't seem concerned. I feel like I was misinformed about the reality of the recovery. I am now going to start physical therapy 3x a week for 3-4 weeks. This will now put me out of work an extra month. At this point I can't justify the surgery. Although I had discomfort and pain. I don't know if the surgery has fixed the problem or just caused another one :((

Thank you for your post. I am week five after surgery and mentally breaking down. I am so annoyed with the tingling sensation on the top of my foot and the occasional stinging sensation. I know things will get better and I know others have it a lot worse than I. But today I cried, for the second day in a row. I will bounce back but just need a little time to cry it out!

I had bunion surgery over 13 years ago and it was the best thing I ever did. I do have a neuroma on one foot (stepping on my own last nerve) but that is the only real trouble I've had. I healed within 6 weeks and was back in shoes after 8 weeks. Everyone's pain tolerance is different so follow your doctors instructions. Try to stay off the foot for at least a week and then use the flat boot for support.

What age should you be when you get the surgery?

I had the Keller Bunionectomy done a week ago. I have been keeping my fooy elevated and ice on it. there is some swelling in the surgical area but very little on the rest of the foot. I have 2 pins also one for the big toe and one for the second toe as that had an old injury causing it to be a hammered toe. The question is did you notice the blood rusting to your foot when you got up to go just to the bathroom etc. Ifeel that blood rushing to my foot and feel alot of pressure down there. will this go away

I would caution against making absolute statements such as following post-op procedures will definitely result in not encountering problems with healing. I followed directions to a tee (even going above and beyond and setting an alarm to ice throughout the night during the first week or so post-op), and ~ 1 month post-op, I found myself with a raging foot infection. I developed blood blisters around my larger side incision, which according to my surgeon, isn't common. It's impossible to say what caused the infection but I'm now under the care of a wound care doc and am slowly seeing improvement after weekly debridement and 2 weeks of 2 antibiotics. My 2 and 3 week follow-up appointments were satisfactory, too, as I was told I was healing well. Problems arise, sometimes in spite of our best efforts. The best thing I did was take daily pictures and when something didn't look right, I texted the pic to the PA who showed the surgeon. I got an appointment that day, had my foot soaked in betadine and peroxide and was placed on antibiotics the same day. Monitor your incisions and trust your gut.

Hello Hara,

 

Wondering how your surgery went? Keep your chin up...the first couple of weeks are the worst. In fact my first week post-op is a blur really! I had a cast for 14 days and now wear the post-op boot (more like a sandal) It is now 3 weeks + 3 days and I am walking around my home with a little limp but little pain. I went back to work 5 days ago and except for numbness and swelling it's not too bad. Today was like a miracle when I woke up the swelling was almost gone and I could stand on my own two feet! Not for long as the swelling comes quickly but as long as I stop to put it up from time to time, it's good. No driving yet as it is my right foot but by this Easter weekend I have no doubt I will be behind the wheel! Good luck to you!

Hi.  I just had a bunionectomy on my right foot 5 days ago, on 8-21-13.  I had read tons of horror stories on these sites, and consequently experienced lots of anxiety prior to my surgery!  I was given a popliteal nerve block prior to the surgery and my right foot was numb for a good 48 hours which was WONDERFUL!!  I also was put to sleep for the procedure.  I have had a GREAT post op experience, and have not experienced any of the "excruciating" pain often described by others.  I started taking Norco-one tab every 6 hrs. the evening of the surgery.    I alternated this med with Advil 400mg-600mg, so that I was taking something every 3 hours AROUND THE CLOCK.  I would set my alarm  to make sure I didn't miss any doses.  I kept my leg elevated ABOVE the level of my heart, and was instructed to ice my foot continuously for the first 72 hours.  Got up only to go to the bathroom and I was able to "heel walk" after the nerve block wore off.  I followed these instructions to a tee, and have had minimal discomfort--about a "2" on a 0-10 pain scale and this wasn't constant.  Please be assured that horrendous pain after a bunionectomy is not always the case.  I had my first post op visit today and all is going well.    I hope this will help all those who are going to have this surgery.

I am 17 and got extreme bunion surgery 8 weeks ago. they had to break two bones, put screws in, remove a bone in my pinky toe, and cut a tendion. the pain was not nearly as bad as i expected. i go to get my cast off tomorrow and get a walking boot. but the surgery itself is nothing to stress about.

I had my surgery on September 23rd and started heel walking the next day just to the bathroom. Before I had the surgery I heard all the horror stories and was actually very terrified to get it done. My experience has been, to say the least, very pleasant. After the surgery I took the prescribed pain pills, but they made me very sick so I took my last pill around midnight that day. I did not take anything for two days after that which was 400mg of Ibuprofen, and I only took it because I had been heel walking alot the day before. I keep my feet elevated day and night; I am not sure if that is the key. I listen to my foot and when it starts to "feel strange" I keep it elevated and may take about 200mg of Ibuprofen.

My doctor was very pleased at my post op appointment (4 days after the surgery) - I had no swelling and everything looked great. My two cents, keep your foot elevated even when you think you don't need to and listen to your body. If I move from room to room I take my pillow with me to elevate my foot. Your foot will let you know when you are doing too much. Everybody's pain tolerance is different and if you are considering having the surgery make sure you get a doctor that does the surgery ALOT! Good luck.