Hello,

I had my Austin bunionectomy three weeks ago tomorrow. I saw my doctor three days after the surgery, then a week after the surgery, but now I don't get to see him again until next week (4 weeks after surgery) and I have some questions. I've gone through my post-op instructions over and over again and I just can't find any info.

For background, as far as I know, I had moderate bunion and he used a dissolvable screw. I was/am in a surgery boot following surgery, never had to use crutches.

So here are my random questions. Some are just out of curiosity. I've tried looking for answers online but maybe my questions are too specific, so I just thought I'd come out and ask them and see what you all thought.

1) At my one week appointment I was feeling so good that I asked for a surgical shoe instead of a boot. He seemed a little hesitant but let me have it, but didn't say anything like to go back to the boot if I'm uncomfortable. I wore the shoe for a few days then needed to go back to the boot most of the time, because the shoe was allowing my foot to bend too much when I walked. Has anyone gone through this? Should he just not have given me the shoe that early? I don't know if I just pushed it too much, or if people normally get a shoe that early, or what.

2) Am I screwing things up if I take the boot off when I'm at home and try to stay off it? I have a toddler and an infant so I can't stay off it all the time, but I try. Basically what I'm asking is, if I do need to hobble around the house without the boot, and I notice the foot is swelling and getting discolored (not bruised, just darker than my other foot), is that doing any sort of permanent damage? Or is it just temporarily uncomfortable? Once I'm off my feet again it goes back to normal after about an hour.

3) How long before the screw dissolves? What are they made of? Is it hard to screw up the healing process as long as the screw is still there? Not that I'm going around kicking things, but you know. Just curious.

4) My big toe is rigid and about a centimeter off the ground when I walk. Is that because of the screw, or tendons being fiddled around with? Will that go away on its own as the healing process progresses?

5) I was touching my foot in different places last night, and noticed that if I touched the center of the foot, maybe an inch away from the bottom of the incision, there was a tingling in my toes. It didn't hurt, just tingled. Is that a normal post-op development? Is it temporary? is it because of the nerves being messed with during the surgery?

Thanks for answering any of my questions, whether based on hard-core knowledge or just your own experience.

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Hello! Thanks for respondingI think my doctor is more conscientious than he seems based on my post. He had to go out of town last week and then told me to come in this week, but when I called the receptionist said it'd have to be next week. Therefore, I appreciate your responses very much!

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I had an Austin a year ago. I never had a boot. Just the surgical shoe which I wore for about 2-1/2 weeks before switching to a Birkenstock when I could walk on my heel. But I had a permanent screw fixation so I wasn't as worried about things shifting too much. However, I did keep it wrapped with Coban for the extra support and protection. A reddish/purple color is quite normal especially while bathing. And tingling is just the nerves healing themselves.

Basically listen to your foot and it will tell you when you've done too much and don't forget those toe exercises.

hope everything goes well and just listen to your dr so your foot will heal correctly