round 2 bunion surgery

08-26-2003, 12:07 AM

hi everyone. it has been a while since i have visited the boards. if you remember, i had bunion surgery on my right foot on 2/28/03. it was the major one w/ the screws and i also had 2 toes done.

my foot was healing nicely BUT then, after about 4-6 weeks, we started to see the big toe move under the 2nd toe. i went to physical therapy for 1 month (3x a weeks) to try and aleviate some of the pain but it only got worse. also, my middle toe (that was healing) got twisted somehow. my doctor was very shocked at how my middle toe got all messed up, but was not as shocked with my big toe positioning.

when we looked at the x-rays, the bunion surgery was still intact, but you could see lots of scar tissue that formed on / around the tendon. and, they couldn't use ultra-sound since i had screws in.

over time, the pain has become really bad - untolerable at times. i have major muscle cramps in my foot and i need to wrap my big toe in place to keep it from crossing under. needless to say - my foot is in WORSE shape than it was before i started :-(.

but no need thinking about the past, i am ready to move on - round 2 is this friday (8/29) on the following:
- my left foot (bunion, 3 toes)
- my right foot (rework on the bunion / remove scar tissue and reposition the big toe; and rework on my middle toe)
- and, to make it all MORE fun - they found a cist on my heal (my right foot) and they are going to remove that as well

i am NOT looking forward to surgery at all. i am really scared - the pain was soooooooo bad last time and look where i wound up. my doctor promises everything will be okay. my husband and mom will be here to take care of me. mom is moving in for 3 weeks. i know i won't be able to get around at all for a while since they are working on both feet this time.

other things i will do different this time:
- my scars are all lumpy. i will need to use Mederma as suggested on the other boards
- i will also get orthodics. after talking w/ some people, they think that my bog toe shifted b/c of how i was walking (even though i was on crutches for 2-3 weeks)
- i will keep an eye out for anything that seems off / wrong and make sure i 3x check w/ the dr. that it is okay.

okay, i do have a positive outlook, i am just scared that this is not the end of my foot problems and something will go wrong again.

i am 28 (turning 29 next month) and i want to get on with my life without foot pain / surgery :-).

more to come after surgery! (sorry for the long post)

08-26-2003, 06:01 AM

God bless and good luck to you! You're lucky you have some help coming in to take care of you...I'm just curious, are you using the same doctor for this procedure? Are you using a Podiatrist or an M.D.? Just curious...
Good luck
PMCW 58
3.5 mos. postop left foot bunionectomy
perking along...

08-26-2003, 08:15 AM

thank you. it is funny, i am using the same dr. everyone thinks i am nuts but i really do trust him. he is amazing, we just think thre were some minor issues that went wrong on the healing end. this round he is going to over compensate for any potential problems. i am going to meet with him today for me pre-op and i have a list with over 10 questions / issues to make sure it will be okay.
he is an DPM surgeon (doctor of podiatric medicine). he has about 5 surgery's aweek.

i am also going to talk w/ him about my tailor bunions - they seem to have grown over some time. he says it is not big deal, but they are starting to hurt. i want it all done NOW.

more to come... thanks for writing.

how is your healing going? any major issues / complications?

08-26-2003, 08:26 AM

Hi Randigale!
I am really surprised you are going with the same doctor. I don't know if you have read any of my recent posts, but I have to get my right foot redone because apparently my foot is in it's original position. I had a lapidus procedure done on May 23rd and went for a second opinion last Thursday because I didn't think my foot was right. Lo and behold, my doctor said if I didn't have screws and scars to show it, he would never have believed I had surgery. My original doctor didn't cut enough of a wedge, so my bones literally popped out of place and are right where I was post op.

My new doctor is awesome and seems genuinely concerned for my well being. He can't believe what I went through and the results.

I HIGHLY encourage you to get a second opinion just to see what someone else says. It will not hurt and insurances pay for it. I am so relieved I went to someone else before I went and got my second foot done. Good luck and keep up posted.

08-26-2003, 08:34 AM

i know, i am feeling like i am making a mistake but i did talk w/ my general dr. and he saw the x-rays and said everything is where it is supposed to be. the tendin / scar tissue is what casued the problem. he also thinks that if i wore orthodics after surgery, this might not have happened. re: the toe that get twisted, i think i did that at night... i went to bed with a perfect healing toe (all wrapped up nicely) and then woke up w/out wrap and it was twisted. i must have slept weird and moved around. it was painful.

surgery is this friday, so i don't have that much time - but i am going to investigate alternative options / opinions today.

thanks so much!

08-27-2003, 10:32 PM

a quick update:
i went to the doctor and mapped everything out. my husband and i feel confident that he is the best one around and what happened before was not normal. we spoke w/ another doctor and was assured that all will be okay.

surgery is friday - yes, this friday.

right foot - they are going to use a pin after they fix the joint. they are also fixing my middle toe.

left foot - same as before, bunion, 2 screws and 3 toes.

i will not be able to walk on either foot for 3-5 days - then only with crutches on my heals.

i am pretty nervous. i will check in after surgery. i have a laptop with wireless internet in my house - fun :-).

09-13-2003, 08:25 PM

Hey randigale, how did the surgery go? How r u feeling? Update us when u get a chance... I was glad to hear from u finally, i talked to u after i had my surgery back in May - June, havent seen u since then, HOPE U R DOING BETTER!!!!!!

i had bunion surgery+tailors bunion removed on 5/30/03, had 2 outside pins, walking now, but with some stiffness (alot, i should say), still swells up, and is painful at times.....

09-14-2003, 09:58 AM

Hi everyone. It is day 16 post-surgery (#2).

Everything went REALLY well. Surgery was about 3-hours long - and i only had really bad pain over the weekend. I did not swell up at all (not as bad as last time) - it was the complete opposite experience as last time. I was up and about with crutches on the 3rd day after surgery.

Stitches were taken out of both feet this past wednesday (all 28 of them). The pin is still in the right foot - comes out on the 24th (almost 4 weeks after surgery).

I am still wearing the surgical shoe on the right foot and the non-weight bearing walking cast on the left foot. I just started walking with a cane yesterday, but i feel like i don't even need it.

Again, it is not swollen (never was) and everything looks really good :-).

I was SOOOO nervous - i was a mess the night and morning before surgery, but now - a) i am so glad it is over, b) it was so much easier than last time.

I took some pictures and i will try and post them this week.

More to come...

09-14-2003, 10:06 AM

(i just posted a long reply and it got deleted.)

all in all, surgery went very well. i was a mess the night before, but i am so glad it is over.

surgery was 3 hours long, but i was able to walk out with crutches.

there were 28 stitches in total, 1 pin in my right foot, and 1 screw in my left. stitches came out last week, the pin (rt foot) will be removed in 2 weeks (almost 4 weeks post surgery).

i have NO swelling. it is unreal and such a better experience than last time. i was able to use crutches right away, and have had minimal pain. the worst was right after surgery (the weekend) but since then, it has not been bad - at all.

i still keep my feet up w/ ice as much as possible, and take it easy all of the time. i just transitioning to a cane (this weekend).

i will post some pictures this week.

more to come...

09-16-2003, 09:49 AM

Randigale, it is so good to hear the second time around was better. Hope things are still on track!

You are one of the first people I read is having work done on a few of the toes too, so I want to ask about it. Was the toe surgery for hammertoes or to shorten the toes? I am having bunion surgery on October 3rd and am having the second toe done too (shortened a little bit I think). Originally the doctor didn't plan to do it, but I did some research and heard if your second toe is longer than your first it can cause recurrent problems later. Also the surgery he wants to do will shorten the big toe a little and make the difference even more. So I asked the doctor and he agreed I should have the second toe done. But my third toe is the same length as my second-- should he do that one too so I don't have a funny-looking third toe? I don't have any hammertoes.

I don't know why he's doing what he is and how it's all going to look at the end! On my other foot, which I'm having done later in the year, I have a fourth toe that's curled under the third. It looks really strange and I was worried about that but my doctor says that's no problem. I'm confused!

What did your doctor do to the toes and what was the reason for it? Maybe it will help me understand! Thanks!

round 2 bunion surgery

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