bunion surgery - how long till you can do 2nd foot? - Foot Problems Message Board

cinderella777 · 07-16-2003, 10:42 AM

Just wondering for those who had one foot done at a time. How long did you have to wait to do the second foot?

Also how do I know if I have a good doc? Does your doc have pictures of before and afters? My doc doesn't but he doens't seem into that stuff. He sounds like he knows what he's talking about.

crutches · 07-16-2003, 12:20 PM

Hi Cinderella, my dr. said I have to wait 4-5 months before doing the 2nd foot. Said the first one has to be good and strong to support all the weight for the next one. I know what you mean about finding a good dr. I went to an orth surgeon first and he told me to go and buy big wide shoes! I was so mad when I walked out of his office, never went back. Then I went to a podiatrist surgeon for another opinion and he didn't hesitate about surgery. Now I was really confused. So I called the Podiatrist Board and enquired about him and also my Dr. offered to give me other patients names to talk to (which I didn't do). I did some checking and found out how long he's been practicing and how often he does this type of surgery and what his education/credentials etc are. I think you just have to do some checking and make sure there are no complaints against him/her. Once I'd had a few visits with him and talked to him a few times I felt more comfortable with him. I'm 5 weeks post op now on my first foot and so far am pleased with him. I guess the big test will be when I get the cast off next week and how I recover with walking. This board was a big help too. I really watched it and read everyone's comments for a month or so before I decided to go ahead with it. Was helpful to hear real stories. Good Luck!

crankyc · 07-16-2003, 01:12 PM

Hi, cinderella...first I checked my health insurance website to find out how many board-certified foot surgeons in my local area were particpating providers. Then I narrowed the list to 3 who had expertise in bunion/hammertoe correction, and checked to make sure they had no complaints against them. I ended up choosing the first one I went to, because he is head of Podiatric surgery at one of my local hospitals, and does a lot of this type of surgery. He explained a couple of possible procedures to me so that I could get an idea of what to expect in terms of recovery, time off, etc. An interesting note: Before I started looking for a doctor, I had thought that it would have been better to have an orthopedic surgeon do the operation. However, you would have to first find some orthopedic surgeons who specialize in the foot, then narrow the list to those who do a lot of bunion procedures. Board-certified Podiatric surgeons who do a lot of the type of surgery you need are actually your best bet. It increases your chances for a successful outcome.
Good luck,
Chris

thelittleprincess · 07-16-2003, 03:42 PM

hi cinderella.

i asked my friend's mom (a nurse) to recommend a good foot doctor for my bunions - so she referred me to a podiatrist. i'm very happy with the work he did on both of my feet. i had my left foot done on 02/27/03 and was "done" with all my office visits by postop week 7. about 3 months later form the surgery date, i had my right foot done on 06/05/03. this one is healing a bit slower than my left foot (due to a benign cyst that was discovered during the surgery) so do allow some extra time in case there are slight or major complications. i was hoping to be back in real shoes by now, but am going to have to wait almost 2 more weeks before the dr checks it again. i'm not even guarenteed that i'll be back in shoes next weekend.

try asking the dr if any of his/her patients who've had the same surgery as you need can offer testimonials - my sister did that with the lasik surgeon and was able to speak to a few of the patients one on one. i trusted my friend's mom's recommendation so i didn't bother doing that.

good luck.

paininthefoot · 07-16-2003, 09:50 PM

Cinderella,

I had my left bunion removed March 10, and I just had my right foot done July 3. I still don't have complete movement in my toe, but it is getting better every day. It seems like the perfect amount of time because I am still in the groove of this long arduous surgery. I teach school and at least can rest my feet this time until August. Good Luck! It's good to hear from everyone.