When is it time to have bunion surgery? - Foot Problems Message Board

Jennifer · 09-29-2005, 11:46 AM

This is my first post here. I've found lots of good information reading past posts. My podiatrist says he's done surgery on bunions that weren't as bad as mine, but it's up to me when I want to do it. I don't have any problems with the other toes such as hammertoes. The pain varies from day to day. Last month I went thru a spell when it kept me awake at night throbbing. The last few days I haven't had much pain as long as I wear wide athletic shoes. It's gotten to the point where I can't wear anything except two pairs of tennis shoes and flip flops. Should I wait until I'm in agony every day or go ahead and have the surgery before it gets any worse?

Annette06 · 09-29-2005, 05:37 PM

Jennifer - hey there! And welcome. I had my first surgery on 8/16 (almost 2 weeks ago). I have always had flat feet and bunions as for as long as I can remember. The look never bothered me and I had resigned myself to wide unattractive feet and shoes that you could see my bones bulging on the side. Until about 2 years ago I had no pain. Then little by little the actual bunion began to hurt when I walked. Not all the time but on occasion. Eventually both feet hurt and again not always - but enough that I would notice it almost daily and sometimes they would just ache like a toothache and become red. I finally decided to get an evaluation in Jan of this year. The doctor left the decision up to me. I waited until the fall for the surgery. Still recouperating so I cannot fully speak to the outcome.

The doctor did however say he found signs of arthritis in my toe joint and a small tear in my miniscus. He went in and cleaned up around the cartledge and performed the bunionectomy, striaghtened my toe, and inserted an absorbable pin.

A woman who I talked to prior to my surgery said she waited 6 yrs too long and said if she had to do it again she would have sooner. By the time she had surgery, she had nerve impactment and a hammer toe. Others have told me they could not stand the touch of their sheets at night!

I believe it is a personal decision and feeling whether you are ready. Although my pain was not unbearable, it was getting more so and more frequent and I finally stopped "putting it off".
I wish you luck in your decision.

Jennifer · 09-29-2005, 05:50 PM

Annette,
Thanks for the reply. I too have "some" pain every day. Some days miserable, others just enough that makes me not want to walk as far as I normally would. For me the time of year that I'm the slowest is January and Feb. If I decide to have surgery in the near future, that is probably when I'll do it. Today I tried on every pair of shoes in my closet and boxed up 75% of them. Hopefully I'll be able to wear them some time next year. I hope your recovery goes well.
Jennifer

joll43 · 09-30-2005, 09:57 PM

Hi there. I had the throbbing at night, and sometimes it was so intense I'd cry. I didn't hurt all the time, but I saw my mother's feet and knew exactly what I was in for if I didn't do something. She never had the surgery, and wishes she had!

I didn't want to wait too long, because I wanted to be really active in my recovery, which I was. The healthier you are, the faster and more completely you'll heal! You have to be pretty strong to be off your feet, since you're moving yourself around with your arms, getting around on crutches, hopping if you need to, etc. If you wait too long, these things may be more difficult for you to do and slow your recovery.

Just my .02!

wakkochic17 · 10-03-2005, 09:22 AM

It's a personal decision.. but my advice is to get it done before it gets worse. I just had a bunionectomy in June and was at the same stage you are. It would go in waves where I'd get pain, and then nothing for awhile. I had two tailor bunionectomies (outside of feet) years ago.. and with those I was in a lot of pain and discomfort. In my case at the time though, my feet went from little to no problems to lots of pain in about 6 months, in the case of both feet. So when my left foot started hurting a few years ago, I gave it some time because I didn't want to just go get surgery, but as it started to progress I knew it would only get worse so this summer I went ahead and got it done.