Foot surgery

emsjane

Hi All,

I saw the Podiatric Surgeon the other day about the Hallux Rigidus in the big toe on my right foot! After several xrays at different angles he has said i would benefit from surgery to remove the boney growth that are causing me so much pain when i walk!!

He booked me in there and then and i go in for the surgery on 17th May. It is done under local anesthetic , which is a bit scary, but as long as i dont feel anything during the surgery, i think this is probably better! Its day surgery and i go home in the evening, which is good.

Soooo, all in all im very pleased and im really hoping it sorts it all out!!

stickywicket

I hope it does too, emsjane. Please remind us nearer the time for pocket duties. Some of us have arthritic memories :roll:

mig

Good luck with the surgery when the time comes.Mig

julie47

Hi Emsjane I haven't had that surgery, but I did have my stump operated on and in that op they also decided to chop away a little more of my bone. This was done with a local anaesthetic and I didnt feel a thing.

I wish you well for the 17th may

Love juliepf x

barbara12

Hi emsjane
Such a lot of ops are now done has day surgery and under a local anaesthetic...much better recovery after.
I do wish you well for the 17th May..xx

emsjane

Thanks everyone! I will definitely be posting nearer the time for pocket duties

Julie, it was reasurring to read that you didn't feel any pain under local anesthetic, im hoping i will be the same

Folara

Hi emsjane

I've not heard of that before.

I wish you well and yes please remind us nearer so we can all jump in your pocket.

Fols x

[Deleted User]

Hi there,
That's good news for you! It's always good to sort things out. I can also assure you that you won't feel a thing, apart of course from the actual injection - anaesthetic. I hope it won't be too painful. I had two in my hand and they were horribly sore (sorry!) but I hear that many are just like normal injections, so please don't worry. Anyway, maybe you can ask your surgeon about that. If you don't want to listen to the surgeons talking during the op, take your mp3 player and put some loud music on. I did that and it definitely took my mind off what was going on around me:).
Good luck!

boo2kitty

Hi emsjane,
Im also having foot surgery for hallux ridgidus of the big toe. Got my pre-op 29th may then i will be given a date for surgery. Not sure what the surgeon is doing until he opens it up as he thinks i have no cartalage left. If that's the case he will have to fuze my toe. I want to have a chat with him at pre-op as if i have the bone cleaned and a section taken out, i would like to know if it come's back, as i have read it can, i would have to go back in the future to have it fuzed. I don't fancy going back and having another op so would rather get it sorted this time as i work term time so i will have the summer holidays off to recover if i get in before then.
I would love to know how you get on and what your recovery is like, please keep us posted of your experience good or bad i would rather know :shock: I have no choice but to have it done no matter how painful it may be i have lived a year in flip flops as i cant get a shoe on at all .I don't have a bunion its just bone spurs. I can bend my toe down but cant move it up its stuck.
Good luck with your op hope all goes well Julie x

emsjane

Hi Julie, I'm havin my op next thursday, im getting a bit nervous as its done under local anaesthetic! Your foot sounds similar to mine although i can wear shoes. I wear hotter shoes now, they are made of soft leather and have lots of support in the soles. I did go to a podiatrists who made me insoles which help me when in walking my dog. I'm hoping they're catching my toe early enough that they can do a repair as I don't want it fused. Although I have had this problem with my toe for at least a couple of years now!!! I will keep u posted and let u know how the op goes and recovery

boo2kitty

Hi Emma,
Sorry just seen your post as i haven't been on due to packing to move I hope your surgery went well and your not in too much pain. My foot has been bad so much so its affecting my hip because im walking funny, only reason im opting for surgery. I have suffered since i was 16 but not been able to wear a full shoe for a couple of years now!! Just sorted my shoes out and had to re-home the stilettos i have kept a couple of pairs just to drool over lol. Im not too worried about the surgery i just dont like the needle part so i have opted for the back of the knee for the needle rather than the foot!! ooooh too boney makes me cringe at the thought.
But i might cry at my pre-med so he will knock me out
Look forward to hearing how you got on good or bad and i hope you have a speedy recovery. take care for now love julie x

emsjane

Hi Julie,

I had my surgery yesterday. I had the injections in my ankle area, the one on the side of the foot was a bit unpleasant as he said there is a big nerve that side of the foot, and he said for me to call out if i felt any pins and needles or heat sensation, but all of a sudden he caught the nerve and it made me jump and hurt for a second. It felt like about 4 injections in total around the ankle area. That was done at about 12.30pm ish and i went for op at 2pm.

For me, it was really nerve wracking being awake during the surgery. My heart was beating really fast. I took my ipod and headphones and once they started i put the music up really loud and im so glad i did as i didn't hear what was going on, including the drilling!!!

The tourniquet wasn't very pleasant around my ankle, it wasn't painful, it was just really tight and uncomfortable. However, having said all those negative things, it was over in about 30 mins or so and once it was done and i was bandaged up and wheeled back to the ward and put in a reclining chair, i was sooo glad id opted for the local anaestetic.

My local anaestetic didn't wear off until about 2am, which was weird as i was very aware of my foot and as i had the special shoe support on and had it elevated, i didn't sleep well, as you can imagine. I started taking the co-codamols and ibuprofen that i was told to take and i woke up early this morning and promptly threw up and then continued to throw up all morning and felt nauseous till about mid afternoon. So im not going to take any more co codamol no unless the pain gets really bad.

My toe is feeling sore and is ok all the time ive got it elevated on the bed, but is painful to walk on, not surprisingly!!!

The surgeon said my joint was quite bad and they removed all the bone growths and he said they drilled some holes in the bone to try and encourage my body to produce some more cartilege. He said the joint isn't great, but that the toe now bends to 90 degrees, so im really hoping once its healed, i won't be in so much pain anymore!!

Ive had my toe problem for about 2 years, so im not sure whether as you've had yours for so long, if they will be able to do the same or whether yours will need fusing!?

I know i have a long recovery ahead of me and thankfully i have a supportive partner and two teenage sons running around after me ))

When do you go for your op???

ironic

Hi Emma,
Glad the op is over and done with, I hope the pain eases off soon, I can see how difficult it will be to get comfy at night. Can you make a make shift cage so the bedding does not touch your toe.


I x

boo2kitty

Oh hi emma,
You made it yay!! thanks for explaining the details i would rather know good or bad as so far i have heard loads of horror stories but it hasn't put me off yet Im at pre-admission clinic on the 29th may they said i would get a date then, not sure how long after pre- admission it takes. I know that if im MRSA tested it wont be long as they have to repeat it if they leave it too long. Im moving in the next 3 weeks so its keeping my mind off ot for now.
I work term time so i hoping to get it done before the summer holidays then i have recovery time and help from my teenage boys at home too. Pay back The surgeon said looking at my x-rays that he didnt think there was any cartilage left to work with and if so he would have to fuse it. I have read forums and it happens to runners alot and i have read that a few of them have had fusion and have got back to running with no problems so i was impressed with that.
Im sure i will suffer from sleep loss too as im not a good sleeper anyway, and im already on naproxen for pain. I cant take co-codamol they make me sick and they can make you constipated big time. You must eat with co-codamol too or they destroy your stomach so do ibuprofen.
I have been told that recovery does take a long time too, everyone is different though!! im a wimp so it will take me ages :shock:
Keep us posted of your recovery and i hope your not suffering too much. Keep your foot elevated as when you put it down you will get a bigger blood flow which makes it throb. ow!!!! hope your feeling more human soon, take care and milk the help coz your worth it!!! julie x x

emsjane

Well the help has turned into a disaster! My OH has pulled a muscle in his back and is now lying on the bed with me!! My two sons are doing a good job running around after us bless them. I think they're making the dinner too!!
My OH is pretty rubbish at being a carer anyway. He hasn't asked me all day how my foot is even though I've asked him how his back is!! :x

My foot is ok today, sore to walk on, but I'm only walking from the bed to the loo and back. I did wash my hair this morning sitting on a chair leaning over the bath.

You might want to check about fused toes, I've heard it can make walking difficult afterwards, let alone running! Some people have to have special shoes!! Cos ur whole foot works differently if ur big toe doesn't bend anymore!! Just check into it b4 u agree to it.

I'm hoping I don't get constipated with the co- cod's. I've stopped taking them for now. I'm eating loads of dried apricots and I had a stick of liquorice

boo2kitty

Oh my goodness what a pickle
Ah bless the boys!! was you not given any crutches? Typical male, i should be ok as as used to be a care supervisor and my partner was trained by me and he is now a deputy manager of a large care home!! Only trouble is im used to doing the caring and im not good at anyone looking after me.
My partners mum had her toe fused years ago and she gets around just fine you wouldnt know. I have the added bonus of being very flat footed and dont fancy having special shoes after the op but i wont be going into it lightly i have a list of questions to ask the surgeon he will hate me when i finish!!!
Just dont fancy having what you have had done then having to go back years down the line to have it fused which is what he warned me about. The nature of the disease is that even if i have the same procedure its still there and it can spread to other toes. Oh my head is mashed, i will feel better when i see the surgeon. I hope you both recover soon and if he doesnt ask you how you are soon, use your good foot and kick him off the bed

LOVE JULIE X

emsjane

I had my toe surgery on Thursday and the next day I started to get a really bad pain in my right hand thumb joint, I just thought I'd leant on it funny, but then yesterday I started to get pain in my left hand thumb joint too and it's so bad today that I can't use it at all!!! I'm wondering if having the op has triggered this??? So now both my thumb joints r really hurting, I hope this is only temporary and it eases off again to bareable!!

emsjane

Ok, I've just discovered that they tell u to keep ur foot 6 inches above ur hip for a good reason!!!!
I came downstairs for the first time since my op as I was sick of the sight my bedroom and sat on a dining room chair and put my foot on another dining room chair and after coming down the stairs and walking to the dining room, within 5 minutes my foot had filled with blood and started really throbbing!!!!!! So I've had to sit on a lower chair and rest my foot on a higher chair! Much better

emsjane

Just an update on my tie after op. it will be a week tomorrow that I had it operated on and I am walking on it quite well, foot still covered in bandage, first redressing on friday! I can't wait to get it off what with this heat at the mo! I've found it difficult walking with the special Velcro shoe they've given me, it's making my heel start to hurt and my back has been really aching as I've been walking differently. But all in all, as long as I don't bend my toe, which is still too sore to do, then it's been ok. Both my thumbs flared up after the op, one of them is still bad. I do wonder if it's connected!!

dreamdaisy

Hello emsjane, I do apologise for missing all of this but I have properly caught up and I have to say I am impressed with the way you are coping with all of this. Foot surgery is such a difficult one to recover from, isn't it? You cannot help but stand up every now and again, perhaps those without arthritis can hop from A to B! Cocos should be taken with food as that can help to 'soften' it's impact on the body - what strength were you given? 'Blocking' is a nuisance but that can be remedied - glad to hear you have some liquorice! Keep walking, keep resting, keep that foot elevated whenever you can, and I hope that healing will continue a-pace. As for the thumbs, I honestly don't know, it could just be co-incidence or did you have your fists tightly clenched during the op? I think mine would have been! DD

Numptydumpty

Hi Emma,
I hope every thing is still going well for you. I think you're incredibly brave.
Your post was so descriptive it made my toe throb!
Wishing you well,
Numpty

emsjane

Thanks DD and Numpty! This heat isn't helping my foot with all the bandaging on!! Last night I put a bag of frozen peas over it and it helped a bit!! I am finding it difficult doing everything what with my sore toe, my bad thumbs and my back aching cos of walking differently!! I just need my hips to start joining in and I'll be stuffed!! Roll on tomorrow when I get this dressing off! Hopefully they will put a much smaller one on!!

Numptydumpty

Fingers crossed for you,
thinking of you, (((())))
Numpty

stickywicket

I’m so sorry I missed this, emsjane. I was away from Thurs-Sun last week and It’s managed to slip in under the radar. Well done you! You seem to be coping very well and I should imagine that the heat is a menace for you right now. I do hope the new dressing will be more comfortable and allow you to walk more naturally as that will surely help too.

I’ve never had a post op flare but I did once have to settle for numbness down half one arm for several weeks after they’d had it in an awkward position in theatre. :roll:

Let’s know how it goes tomorrow. Well, I hope.

Aprilann

I too have had foot surgery - or should I say feet. I have RA. This was nine days ago and my feet are SO hot inside these bandages.

I had it done under a spinal block and with injections in both my knees. Was not looking forward to this procedure - had three spinal blocks a few years ago which were unpleasant to say the least but this time it went very well indeed.

I had excision of the lesser MT heads on both feet and the toes straightened. I had the big toe fused and I will have the plate taken out in about six months. It was planned to take my left big toe off from the first joint but my fantastic surgeon decided to keep it for me. (About twenty five years ago they wanted to take all the toes off on the left foot - that was the done thing - but I 'declined the offer'.) My surgeon said she would never do this to me and she has kept to her word. She is such a lovely person to know and a first class surgeon. A K wire was put in one of my toes but this had to be taken out the next day because it went (what the professionals call) dusky.

My bedroom is now my living quarters, just going downstairs every other day for about four hours. Walking is easier than I thought it would be trying to put my slight weight onto my heels (I barely weigh 7st). I am using a gutter frame as I do feel I could lose my balance a little due to walking on my heels.

I have a marvellous husband who will do everything for me when needed. He too has started with OA - feet, knee, shoulder - he said he never thought he would get like that.

Will let you know how I get on.

emsjane

Wow, aprilann, you really have been through it!!! What I've had done is minor compared to yours!!! I hope you benefit from the surgery and it makes life a little easier for you!

I know what you mean about the bandages, I go today to have mine redressed and I can't wait!!

I've also found walking easier than I thought I would. As long as I don't bend my toe joint I'm ok. I don't like the Velcro shoe they've given me to wear, it's heavy and clompy and makes me walk funny, which makes my back hurt! I'm hoping to be able to wear my crocs!!

Keep in touch and let us know how everything goes for you. X