Operation on broken foot?

[ClaireDeLoon]

I broke my foot 8 weeks ago and had my cast off 2 weeks ago and as it is still swollen and very painful I got an appointment at the fracture clinic today and the consultant said it is 90% likely I will need an op to fix it.

Unfortunately he had to leave for another clinic before I could get an x-ray done so I won't know for definite if I do need an op until I can see him again next week. Because of this I couldn't ask him all the questions I thought about while I was sitting waiting for my x-ray.

So does anyone know:

Is it general or local?

I'm ttc - should we stop until after op?

How long does it take to recover from such an op?

If anyone has had this op and can share their experiences or has medical knowledge and can answer my questions I would be most grateful as at the moment I'm just a bit scared right now.

TIA

It's normally a general anaesthetic and you will need X-rays during the surgery and after to make sure it has set correcly. Any surgery carries risks, in an adult it can take about 6 weeks but it depends on the severity of the break. Your consultant will know more.

I would wait until after the op ttc because of the x-rays.

It'll be OK.

oh thank you for such a prompt response, that's very kind

I'm getting near the end of my current cycle, told the x-ray lady today so had a lead gown but assuming this isn't my cycle we'll put ttc on hold until after op. Oh well.

You're welcome. I hope it all works out for you. The x-ray dosage for a foot isn't alot (compare to other areas that is) but you'll need to have several x-rays so it's best to be careful until you have recovered and don't require any further films.

clair I know it's not quite the same but I had both my feet deliberately broken as part of a surgical procedure to straighten them.

I had a general anaeshtetic and it took 4 weeks till i could hobble and 6 months to approach normality - but remmeber I had two done at once.

personally I would not have let it interfere with TTC had that been in my plans- that includes the x-rays. ( I had dental X-rays when pregnant- the risks are miniscule)

Good luck

gosh that is a long time to be not mobile after 6 months were you pain free when walking?

I have private health insurance through work so it may not be too long before an op if I need one. I'm OK with a ttc delay of a month or two as long as the referral to the fertility clinic can still go ahead.

Pretty much pain free after 6 months.
The whole thing was very painful though.
I got it done through private healthcare insurance too and basically wanted it out of the way asap.

I got it done when my breastfed baby was 6 months old - soonest time I could spend a night away from him - dh brought him in for a feed first thing next day!

Best of luck with ttc. In your shoes I would def get it done straight away. otherwise like me you will prob have to wait till baby is a few months old.

X-rays would be less of a problem as they can screen you with lead while only x-raying your foot, but I would put off TTC until the surgery was done if possible as there is an increased risk of miscarriage from general anaesthetic gases. That said there are many women who have these whilst pregnant with no problems - the risk is small, but if you can take a bit of a wait to maximise safety it would probably be a better plan.
Hope your foot is better soon.

Thank you for responses! Saw (different) consultant today. It is healing just slowly so now have to wait 4 weeks and then decide if op is needed.

I hadn't realised the op that might be needed is a bone graft from my hip - I just thought they meant breaking and re-setting.

As I feel fairly confident it is probably healing OK and the op will not be required we're going to carry on ttc.

Why do different consultants tell you different things? And why don't some tell you anything at all? I would find it all less stressful if they would just explain it all as today's consultant did.

Anyway thanks again.

Which bone(s) have you broken?

For my Masters project I studied people who had had metatarsal fractures in the past, looking at the state of their foot now, and asking questions about ongoing problems with the foot, pain, lack of mobility, whether it has changed the type of footwear they can wear etc. I found that people who had had surgery had a much better long term outcome than those who didn't have surgery.

It is 15 years since I did that study and I can't remember all the details, but that was the overall outcome, so it might be worth considering.

I don't know the proper name - it is the bone on the little toe side of my foot, forwards of my ankle.

Oh god I hadn't considered footwear long term - what if I can't wear heels again ever

I will bear what you say in mind, I would much rather have surgery than long term problems. Thank you very much for that info!

Hopefully you won't have any long term problems and can continue to wear your favourite heels

I think I have the same problem I broke my 5th met metatarsal in two places back in August. I saw the doctor and they couldn't decide whether to operate and so gave it six weeks to heal. It didn't then saw another doctor and he wanted to give it another 6 weeks now four months on I am waiting to referred to another doctor who will do the operation which I have a date of 20th January for. That will be six months since the original accident and that still isn't a date for the operation.