Hi All. It's been a while since i posted. I had a double bunionectomy in mid-January. Had the Chevron thingy with pins (that got removed) and ligament release on one of the feet. All looked good initially but within the last 6 weeks or so, I've been noticing that my feet look worse in terms of alignment. I used an orthopedic surgeon with a fellowship in foot and ankle surgery by the way, and he seems one of the few (among posts I've read on this board) who allowed weight bearing from the start (as much as I could manage of course). He said the pins would hold the bone until the 6-8 week point when the bones would have been healed (and this is when I had the pins removed). Anyway, I saw him today for my 3 month check and he said that there had been some recurrence but that I'm still swollen and would be for another 3 months so we should reserve final judgement until that time. He believes the cause of the problem is weak ligaments around the big toe joint capsule that were unable to hold the bone in place. He also says there really isn't anything that can be done about it. I'm frustrated because I expected to have pain relief as well as nice looking feet. I definitely don't have the latter and I'll have to wait a few more months to determine if I've got the former (since I'm still not in real dress shoes yet). Anyway, just wondering if anyone has any thoughts or words of advice. I must say I'm pretty upset to have gone through all that only to have a possible partial recurrence after just 3 months.

Thanks folks.

Les

Hi there. I have the same story as you. My foot did not look promising coming out of surgery, and the bunion recurred. Boy, was I upset! I ended up going back in (with a different doctor) two years later and having a Lapidus procedure, which is often done for people with laxity in their feet. I'm only at five weeks, but I'm very pleased with how things went. Have a look on this board to see what that surgery involves. It pretty well guarantees that a bunion will never recurr because it corrects the structural problems.

I'm so sorry you had to go through this with so little satisfaction, but it happens sometimes. Give your foot a few months and see how it feels.

Linda

Hi marketingmom,
I am sorry to hear about your recurrence. It sounds so similar to what happened to me. My 1st surgeon was also an orthopedic surgeon with a fellowship in foot and ankle reconstruction. I thought that was good enough. I guess I thought wrong. Both of my big toes returned to their original position. Only the big "bumps" were gone. My 2nd surgeon (board certified podiatrist with 27 years experience) didn't do such a hot job either. The bunions (hallux valgus deformities) didn't return but I had different complications after he "redid" my bunionectomies. I am now seeing an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in foot and ankle surgery only - nothing else. She seems to be pretty good. I have had my right foot operated on by her which is the 3rd time for me (for pain reasons only) and will have the left foot operated on again by her (3rd time for that one as well for pain reasons only) in about 3 months I hope. I wish I had known about her and went to her in the 1st place but I can't change that now.

I don't agree that nothing can be done. I think that's just a cop-out for your doctor because if you believe him on that, it makes him look better. If you consider a "redo" surgery, please choose very carefully. I thought I did with surgeon #2 but I guess I thought wrong again. I certainly would have called it quits after the 2nd set of surgeries were it not for the pain issues. I would recommend trying to find a very experienced orthopedic surgeon who specializes in foot and ankle surgery only, period. Once is bad enough, twice is worse, and 3 times is desparation. You may get pain relief and good cosmetic results with a 2nd set of bunion surgeries by a highly qualified surgeon but if you reach a 3rd time like I did, you will hope for pain relief and cosmetics will be the least of your worries. Healing can be quite a problem as well with repeated surgeries in the same area no matter how young and healthy you may be. I healed OK with my 1st two sets of bunion surgeries but by the 3rd time around there was so much scar tissue in the area around the bones that I am now using a bone growth stimulator. Thank goodness it is working but I should never had to go through all of this.

I can certainly relate to how upset you are feeling. I wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide to do.

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement. I have no idea what will be over the next 3 months or level of pain/discomfort I may or may not have. One can only hope and pray. But man, makes me so mad at my doc. Why did this happen is my big question.

OK, first of all, did recent x-rays show that the toe has deviated from the straight-on position that they pinned it in during the surgery? (end of big toe bone butted flat onto 1st metatarsal). At 3 months I was very concerned too that my toe was "creeping" back into bunion position, but the x-ray showed the joint as totally straight. Because of all my complaining, the doctor gave me a soft splint & toe spacers to wear at night, but as soon as I put a shoe on, my toe bent over again. I quit using the splint. My x-ray shows that the bone on the tip of my big toe is slightly curved & that is what causes the bend. Not to worry, according to the doc; many people have that curve & it has nothing to do with bunions. As for the continued pain & swelling, I am at 4 months now & still have that. I was told it takes 12 months to fully recover from a bunionectomy and that I will have some swelling at least until 6 or 8 months. Basically I was told the same as you: there's nothing to be done for it but time will heal. I hope your problem & mine will go away with time. Give it 3 months for sure & good luck!

PS: my foot still looks like a Frankenstein monster, after 4 months. Sometimes purple, most always red on top, and with a swollen joint. So much for the great looking shoes we were supposed to be wearing by now. I cover it up with a big bandage & a sock.

Take heart, girls. It does get better. Carolcrone, I'm sure the reason you still have a "Frankenstein monster foot" is the doctor's recent digging in there. I had one for quite a while. In fact, I told my husband I felt like I was looking at someone else's foot and kept asking (rhetorically, of course) what they'd done with mine. For months I also asked why I let them do this to me--but that's usually on the really bad days, which get fewer and fewer as your recovery moves along. At five months, most of the swelling and discoloration are gone. The scars have faded a lot and unless they're in bright light, or you look closely you can't tell there are scars. I still have some toe stiffness, but it's doing well enough that in another week or so I'll be scheduling my second surgery. Marketingmom, don't panic yet; as your doctor said, it's still too early to tell. I really hope the next three months bring you good news. Keep us posted. The way this seems to work is that when some of us are down, others are feeling positive and can help us feel a little more hopeful. Take care.

Twobadfeet

Oh Marketing Mom,

I hope that your feet are ok. I am so sorry to read about this. :( I was wondering how you were doing. Hopefully they won't regress anymore and the pain will go away for you. Sending you lots of good thoughts...

I would suggest you get a bunion splint to wear daily holding the big toe in alignment. The scar tissue that has formed around the big toe joint is still "remodeling" and if you splint the toe straight, it may remodel in a position that you find more acceptable.

Carolcrone is correct when she says that

"My x-ray shows that the bone on the tip of my big toe is slightly curved & that is what causes the bend. Not to worry, according to the doc; many people have that curve & it has nothing to do with bunions"

Unfortunately with bunions, perfectly straight is not the position that surgeons try to achieve, as it is less functional than slightly angled towards the smaller toes.

As far as immediate weight bearing is concerned- for a chevron type of procedure, that is the standard of care. Some surgeons have people use crutches simply for comfort the first 1-2 weeks, but immediate weight bearing is the standard.
:jester: