bunion op, Has anyone had one? Do I or don't I?

[longlashes]

I am 46 and have had a bunion for years. It is a bit painful althought not agonising and I have managed to find shoes I can wear so that you wouldn't notice it and I wear boots and leggings in winter. However, its starting to get worse, not so much more painful, but my big toe is starting to curl over my next toe ( how attractive). I had an x ray at hospital and the surgeon said it is a big op and a long recovery time. He said it was a lot to think about, but its better to have it done sooner than later as the younger you are the better it will heal.
I work as a nursery nurse and am on my feet the whole time, so would have to take loads of time off work. I have looked at recovery times and it seems like it would take weeks, even months to heal. I am petrified I will never be able to wear nice shoes again. Also dh works away on the oil rigs 3 weeks away 3 weeks home and I may have to be on crutches for weeks. Do I have it done or just sort of ignore it. I have such an active busy life and it seems like it will all go on hold just for a toe! so do I or don't I?

Having had this discussion with someone who had just had the operation I would say have it done. They all had relatives who chose not to that ended up in wheelchairs!!!!

It will only get worse seems to be the general consensus.

My mum had it done in the summer, she was only off work 3 weeks, she didn't need crutches, the occupational health lady thought she was safer without them! It was swollen for a good while, she had her follow up appointment last week and her surgeon is very impressed, she can now wear shoes and trainers, until the surgery she could only wear fit flops and ugg boots!

Thanks, I have put off thinking about it for years. Think I may go back to the doctor and talk about it some more as I didn't feel that my consultant was that informative. We are covered by BUPA by dhs job so I can chose when to have it done. Thinking of maybe March time so I can lead the time off into the Easter holidays. I am worried, like you say if I leave it I could end up worse off but also don't know how I will be after with such a long recovery period. Keep thinking I will put it off for a year but guess thats stupid.

I'm a graduate podiatrist who is Health Professions Council registered.

Whilst I wouldnt have it done by an orthapaedic surgeon I would have it done by a podiatric surgeo n. They are clinicians who have started with my qualifaction and then spend 10 years doing post grad training. It is a very hard course and expensive to do. The standard for passing is very high.

Not all PCT's fund Podiatric surgeons.

What you have got to consider is that if foot surgery goes wrong there is not always corrective surgery to fix it, there just isnt enough bone. So you have to ask yourself if it goes wrong is the pain I am in now worth it?

Pod surgeons tend to use internal fixation so although you are not on crutches you are on bed rest. And that is the main problem, young patients have good bone stock but have famillies or work commitments whilst older patients have the time to have it done but poor bone stock.

If a pod surgoen says bed rest they mean bed rest! you stay in bed unless you go to the loo. If you do too much and the bone slips out of postion you are in trouble. And your surgeon will be miffed to say the least.

Dont forget to ask what type of operation you are having, some surgoens like to fuse the whole joint so you cant bend the toe to wear a heel, some shorten the long bone and re-align the joint but it leaves the big toe shorter than the second toe usually. Healing times are always longer for the feet because sooner or later you have to walk on them and it keeps the inflammation active for longer.

I have to say I have never had a patient wheelchair bound by bunions, even rheumatoid patients who get stage 4 bunions (the last stage where the toe is completely dislocated essentially and points towards the little toe).

It is a big deal.

3 months to be fair; 6 months to be good; 12 months to be right

First 2 weeks (until your stitch check) bed/loo/sofa-with-foot-up/just about make your own cuppa then foot back up.

It'd probably be the same op if you waited a year or 2, but if your lesser toes are getting affected already if you wait 10 years it'll be a much bigger deal.

Stop smoking now if you do. Healing is really slowed down and risk of infection much higher in smokers.

Get a proper medically qualified foot & ankle surgeon to do it. Your podiatrist shouldn't be doing things like this (I know one who I'd trust with mine, and he works in a unit with the orthopaedic surgeons, not alone)

the recovery time really depends on which of the (very) many operations they need to do.

FWIW I had both feet done (one last September, one in January), and needed 8 weeks each time before I was officially signed off. Can't remember the actual op mane, but they had to rest the toe joint, clear out the excess stuff, and adjust the muscle between the big toe and the second toe (there is a proper technical term for all of that, but in layman's terms, that's what they did). I found it took fully four months before all the swelling went down, and I was comfortable trying on new shoes (wore Primark plimsolls/Birkenstocks till then).

With one foot I was non weight bearing for two weeks which was horrible, with the second I had the black clumpy heel-walking shoe from the start, so managed reasonably well without crutches.

It is a major operation, and you definately need help at home as you have to keep the foot up as much as possible. I could't have managed without DH working from home, and with smaller DC (mine are 18, 13 and 9).

However, depending on the op you could be fine after a couple of weeks, you really need to speak to the consultant. Mine has said that I should never wear heels ever (not a problem as I'm not a heels kind gal ), so don't expect to be able to fit into any style of shoe afterwards.

Helpful tip for anyone reading and considering speaking to their GP, DO NOT say it's because you can't buy shoes/find shoes to fit, even if that's true, as the default thinking is that you want it done for cosmetic reasons. Much better to talk about the pain/discomfort as your reasons .

Thanks for all your thoughts, you have given me a lot to think about. I don't smoke, thats one thing. The consultant I saw said he was writing a letter to my gp so I may go and talk more to them next week. I don't feel like I asked him the right questions so don't know if I can go and talk again about it. To be honest I really didn't take to him that much, he just seemed a little abrupt, although he said hed done hundereds of these ops. He said it would be him who performed it if I went private or on the nhs.

Ishallwearmidnight, never ever wear heels again? I don't really wear high heels but I do like a bit of a heel on my boots. Ds are 16 and 18 thought not the greatest help although they would have to be. Just wish dh could be home longer than 3 weeks.

DH had this done about 6 years ago. His main advice is to get a damn good surgeon, as apparently it's one of the most difficult operations to get right.

A podiatric surgeon is different to a podiatrist.

I cannot do bone surgery but they have 10 years of tuition and pupillage so yes they are qualified to perform this surgery, and more complicated procedure too.

I had a bunion op in 2009. I was very lucky in that I had an excellent podiatric surgeon and he did a fantastic job. I had the operation under local anaesthetic then had what can best be described as an epidural in the back of my knee to numb the lower leg for 24 hours until the worst of the pain had subsided. To be honest, that was the worst bit, not being able to feel my leg, it was weird.

I was expecting a lot of pain as I had been warned but I didn't find it too bad at all. It was easily manageable. I had a reaction to the painkillers so had to ditch those after the first day but I coped. My lower leg was heavily bandaged for a couple of weeks and I had to wear a special sandal, sit with foot raised as much as possible but also do some gentle foot exercises. After 2 weeks the dressing I was wearing trainers and able to get about with no trouble at all.

The main pain and inconvenience for me was having to tolerate ex MIL who was doing school run and insisted on interfering and taking over in any area that she could! The bunion op was a doddle compared to that.

Reading his with interest. I'm in the position of being in pain in both feet, unable to buy shoes anywhere on the high street, but really can't see when I could find the time to have weeks or months without walking or driving. We live in the country and have to drive to go anywhere, and I have young dc and no family who could help. But I worry that if Ileave it for 10 years it will get a lot worse.

Fwiw, I saw my GP who just looked at me with incredulity. They told me to come back when I was 65 (I'm 39 now) or if I got diabetes, but otherwise to b***r off.

A friends mother had it done and was fine for 10 years or so but had to have it done again. She was never able to wear heels or normal shoes after the first op, but was in less pain.

Ooh yes thats another advantage with pod surgeons, they use local anaesthetics.

The surgeon told me the op was a medical necessity. He showed me the xray of my foot and my big toe joint was almost dislocated it was that far across. He explained that it can cause nerve damage and also damage to the other toes, affects the way you walk etc. I was 44 when I had the op and there is no way I could have waited until I was 65. I was already experiencing numbness in my big toe.

Fluffy That's just silly. As an orthopod I do foot ops under local, regional or GA as needed. I do stand by saying that a large bunion with lesser toe problems needs to be adressed looking at the whole foot though - a fairly large proportion also need things like Achilles lengthening to minimise recurrence.

We do lots of straightforward forefoot surgery as daycase too.

Yes, you do but a large proportion of my patients still get GA. And I know which I would prefer.

Oh dear and it was going so well!.

I think I'd rather have a LA if it was 2 toes or fewer, but I'm a wimp on the sharp end of the scalpel!

Yes I dont like people doing my feet, I had to go to casualty because I got glass in my foot. Hurt like hell and I didnt want to tell what I was until after she had fished it out.

Have heard so many different opinions, am def going to try and get another doctors opinion. If I knew it would stay as it was I think I would live with it, am just concerned it will worsen. Ive seen little old ladies with their toes crossed over in their sandals, I don't want that to be me.

Really disappointed to see a podiatric surgeon put patients off having this done by an orthopaedic surgeon. There are many specialist foot and ankle surgeons out there who would do an excellent job with local anaesthesia and nerve blocks.

Mine got so bad that I couldn't wear strappy sandals at all as I couldn't get the bunion into them. I had to buy wide fit shoes just to accommodate the bunion but this meant the shoes were too big for me and every single pair of boots I owned became bunion shaped after just a couple of months of wearing them. It's bliss now being able to wear shoes that fit and to not have my boots ruined by being pushed out of shape.

My mum had both hers done (and her wisdom teeth at the same time) about 35 years ago. In those days they were in full leg plasters for weeks. Didn't stop her conceiving me while in plaster . Oh and no problems since (except wearing shoes with a certain cut that irritate her scar).

They do get worse with time once they've started to go, I'm afraid, longlashes sorry! It's a slow process though.

Yesterday I was determined to get it done, today I am backing off the idea, just don't know. I don't really get much pain at all, its just unsightly and I am worrying about my toes getting so that they cross over. Thing is, I am having a brilliant time at the moment, have a fantastic social life, love my job. I coudn;t imagine being stuck at home. Am going to ring doctors and see if I can get inserts or whatever to slow down the progression as an alternative for now. I am not being chicken, but dh is away on the oil rigs, I seem to have a house full of teenagers constantly and I love going to the gym and am out every weekend. Maybe I should wait awhile although I am probably putting of the inevitable !!