6 weeks after bunion/hammertoe surgery - foot quite swollen
Posted , 23 users are following.
So, yesterday I was 6 weeks after bunion and hammertoe surgery. My doctor said that I could walk in soft wide tennis shoes. Well, I tried with wide, large sneakers and then wide Lem shoes and my foot does not fit into anything. It is swollen and frozen. Also the skin on top of my foot and also sole, toes is very thick and hardened and now peels like crazy. I am limping along still in my neoprene surgical sandal. I know that it does not offer enough support but there is no shoe of any kind that I can put my foot into. My doctor said that I could drive when I can wear normal shoes. But I cannot wear even wide, soft sneakers. So, I am still elevating my foot a lot. It helps but not much. I know that swelling is normal and it will last quite a while. But I am worried that I cannot wear even wide soft athletic shoes. Have you experienced this? What did you do? I know there is light at the end of the tunnel but how long is this tunnel? Thank you!
1 like, 63 replies
michelle181169 simona2019
Edited
hi i had bunion surgery a few years ago , unfortunetly y the swelling last a good few months and the more your on your feet the more it swells , i have just t had my other foot re done with shortening of toe as well . swelling is just as bad , just takes time .
Wiggypi simona2019
Edited
I have been following many of the discussions on here. It is so helpful to know what others are going through. I had lapidus bunionectomy and mallet toe correction on my second toe. I am 6 weeks out from surgery which was on December 19th, 2019. Sounds like my post op care is a bit different. I have been in a non weight bearing cast for the first 6 weeks and now am in a walking boot for 6 weeks.
The first few days walking with the boot was easy but something changed two days ago and I have experienced significant pain in the arch. To the point where I cannot bear any weight on it. Today it is a tad better and I am able to put a little bit of weight on it. Not sure what caused the change.
It sounds like having swelling, significant numbness or lack of sensation in the toes, and lots of peeling skin is normal? I have been discouraged and refer to my foot as Franken-foot. It is looking a bit better but boy has it gone through some ugly stages.
I am thankful to be able to read what others have experienced. I am in Northern California, 59 years old and put off this surgery for over 40 years. I was blessed with a woman approaching me in a store checkout line when I was on my scooter. She asked if I had bunion repair. Long story short, she had the same doctor, the same procedure, showed me post surgery photos of her foot (which looked as bad as mine!) and then proceeded to take her shoe off and show me her foot 1 year post surgery. She encouraged me greatly. She said in one year I will be so thankful for this surgery.
I appreciate all of you sharing your stories and answering questions. It sure helps me and others!
tlw Wiggypi
Posted
Hello Wiggipi from NorCal,
Welcome to Simona's discussion thread. Its been most helpful to hear of others recovery for me as well. We all will heal differently but I think 3 months post op (PO) is a date to look forward to. I'm guessing that your arch discomfort is from a newly aligned foot. My foot PO is so different than pre surgery and my PT said it takes awhile for the muscles to adjust to a new foot. Wishing you a speedy recovery. This is definitely a long process to which it cannot be sped up unfortunately. I have days that my foot is painless and little swelling then others that are painful. Listen to your Dr. give your foot plenty of rest, elevation, ice and hopefully all of us will have a great 1 year PO experience.
Wiggypi tlw
Posted
Thank you tlw! It is good to read the experience of others. I am looking forward to things being better down the road a bit. Hopefully that 3 month period will be an encouraging time. Right now everything is swollen, barely moves and is mostly numb. I thought I was prepared for this recovery time but apparently I wasn't! LOL. I am so tired of not doing my usual routine. Although I am able to drive again and get to part of my job. It will be awhile before I am out walking the dogs in our orchard!
Thank you for your response!
christine25272 simona2019
Posted
Hi guys.. I am so glad I found this discussion.. Tomorrow will be 4 weeks I had hammer toe surgery on my right foot. I had three toes worked on.. Stitches and pins are out and the dr said I am healing well. I still have some swelling but am able to walk. Unfortunately I can not wear a shoe yet . I am scheduled for my other foot next week for one hammer toe. One concern I have is my second toe from the big toe which was my hammer toe now is raised higher than my other toes . It does not lay flat on the floor. I addressed my concern with my doctor and he said it is very common after hammertoe surgery and he advised me to exercise and stretch my toes to avoid scar tissue and bring down the toe. I have been obsessing about this now. Has anyone else experienced this?
simona2019 christine25272
Posted
Ahhh, hammertoes! They seem to be quite tricky. You say that the pins are out after just 4 weeks. Well, I had just one hammertoe, the second toe on my right foot. The pin was out after 6 weeks. Initially, after 2 weeks, the nurse practitioner got scared when she saw that my toe was Lower than the others. She wanted to pull the pin out then. But the doctor said that he intentionally pinned it lower to prevent it from curling and becoming a hammer again. He said that by walking, the toe will get into alignment. Unfortunately, this is not so. I've had my surgery on Oct 31 and the toe is still low and even worse, it is quite stiff, unbending, despite physical therapy and exercising it. So, because of this walking is still not easy since the toe is like a dead stick that does not hit the ground properly. Moreover, because of it lower position, the toe next to it which used to be fine is now lifting up and curling a bit towards the second toe. This has been very discouraging.My surgeon is the best in my state and among the ten best in the nation. But toes are hard to fix, I now realize. And it is possible, even probable that I will have to learn to accept that perfection does not exist and walking easily and properly is harder than one thinks. This having been said, maybe your situation is still fixable. Good luck!
patsy71834 simona2019
Posted
I am so pleased to find this forum. I am four weeks out tomorrow from bunion and hammertoe surgery, and the pain level has increased over the last week or 10 days instead of improving. I am having stabbing, burning, drawing pain which I gather, from reading other posts, must be nerve related. Simply knowing that this is not necessarily abnormal is comforting. I called in last week to the doctor's office and talked to the nurse who seemed to think all was well, but as the week has gone on, I've become increasingly discouraged over the level of pain. My perception is that the pain is more related to the correction of the hammertoe than the bunion. If this is all in due course, then so be it, and I will take my meds and get through it. I had pretty much quit taking anything for pain except Tylenol, but I am back on some because the stabbing is intense.
Thanks for just listening, and I will continuing reading and hope to hear other experiences. The day this pin comes out maybe be a hard day, but I will be so happy to get it out. Can I hope the pain will lessen then, or is that just wishful thinking. I am non-weight bearing and will be for two more weeks. Sounds like finding shoes will be the next big issue. I think I vastly underestimated what it is going to take the walk again.
simona2019 patsy71834
Posted
i am sorry to hear you have so much pain in the hammertoe. I had the same surgery as you, on Oct 31. The problem with my hammertoe was not is not so much pain but the fact that it is stiff, unbending and so hard to walk on. Plus, mine was pinned lower than its neighbors and this adds to the problem. As far as footware is concerned, from my experience, you need wide, deep and perhaps a half size to a size larger. Also shoes that open all the way and close with velcro. Shoes made for diabetics work as long as they can open very wide or all the way. Good luck!
patsy71834 simona2019
Edited
Pin came out yesterday, and I am happy to report, the removal was not painful for me. Given what I have read, I am very thankful for that. Unfortunately, the pain level has not changed much which disappoints me. I am still having significant drawing, tight, burning pain (hard to describe) at the base area of the toe. I was instructed to put 25% of my weight (with boot on) and increase by 25% each week until I do a week of 100%, then graduate to a shoe.
So guessing from reading these posts, at six weeks out, quite a lot of pain is not unexpected and will likely persist for several more weeks, right? I have been told to massage the joint at the base of my toes. So thankful to be rid of the pin, but I am still surprised by the intensity of the pain this far into recovery. It is not a dull, annoying ache but much more. Normal?
simona2019 patsy71834
Posted
Hooray for the pin being out. As for the pain, as long as the incision is not infected, it is normal, sort of. I would massage the incision with some antibiotic cream, to be on the safe side. Everybody's experience is different from what I see. But there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Good luck to you!
ceegeebee patsy71834
Edited
I'm 14 weeks out from surgery... a bunion on each foot plus hammer toe on one foot. I found the hammer toe procedure caused more actual pain than the bunion toes, and my surgeon confirmed this what most people say to him. My hammer toe also constantly looked like a swollen sausage. Now I've realised that it's no longer swollen, nor is it painful. I'm not sure when that happened... perhaps 2 or 3 weeks ago. It does feel weird, but that I guess goes with the fact it doesn't bend.
I've had a lot of trouble with swelling, which caused purple crimson discolouration of my feet by the end of the day, and barely the ability to hobble about - the swelling would often extend behind the base of the toes so it felt like I was walking on some sort of hard lump. I tend to overdo it, though, so maybe haven't taken enough breaks.
Earlier, up until maybe 10 weeks, I had random shooting and stabbing pains in my feet as well but that's pretty well gone. My main issues are the swelling related pain (but the swelling HAS decreased... Yay!) and I get soreness (sometimes more, sometimes less) in the area on the side of my foot where the incision was, plus unpleasant numb sensations beside my big toes. But I can wear shoes now, velcro closing sandals but also about 3 pairs of my regular sandals are fine (till the swelling develops and I have to change shoes), and also my sports sneakers, which I hate wearing as I just don't like sneakers at all. But sneakers feel best when my feet really hurt.
I keep wondering if I'll ever be able to walk at my regular brisk pace again; I get tired from the effort of walking with feet that feel sore and bruised (bruised on the soles... don't know what goes on with that!). But then I look back to 14 weeks ago and realise the improvements that have happened. This is a journey and it's one that you really can't understand until you go through it.
I massage my feet every night, especially at the incision sites, and do some foot exercises recommended by my physio, including getting my big toes moving forward and backward to break up scar tissue around the joint and get some toe flexibility back. I recommend you put your feet up for a good rest after every period of sustained use. That's something I find hard to do, but do what I say, not what I do. I know it really would help me but I keep getting busy and forget.
What is great is that my feet look nice now... due to all the massage and foot creams there's no rough or discoloured skin and the BIG thing is my bunions are totally gone. It will be worth it in the end!
patsy71834 simona2019
Posted
Many thanks to both of you for responding. The pain level has been dis-heartening, so your encouraging words help. I really appreciate the feedback from people who are ahead of me.
patsy71834 simona2019
Posted
I feel like I am a broken record, but today is eight weeks out, and while the incisions are much less tender, I continue to have significant pain between my big and second toe, and my second and third toe. It almost feels like a stick or something in them, not exactly a constant hot stabbing, but a constant dull stabbing. (I know that doesn't make much sense.) I just can't figure out if the pain I am having is normal. I have called in two different times, and I am not getting any sense that the doctor is worried, though his nurse said I could come in before my next appointment (not for another four weeks).
Have most of you had pain beyond aching and burning at this point? I have a lot of odds and ends of pain that are uncomfortable and occasionally downright painful, but this particular pain is so totally distressing me. I have kept a record for the last nine days with notations of whether or not a day was "miserable" or "manageable." Out of nine days, only three have felt manageable. Can anyone give me some feedback about how you would rate your pain level at eight weeks? I really don't think I am a wimp, and I know it is hard to rate pain. Everything else I have is probably about a 4 or 5, but this particular pain is more a 7 or 8 in my own mental system of 1-10 pain. Many thanks to anyone who has insight.
simona2019
Posted
I think you should have it checked out. And get a second, even third opinion. I don't think it is normal. It should not hurt more.
tlw simona2019
Posted
I'm so sorry that you're having pain. I completely agree with Simona! It doesn't seem like you should be in pain and especially this much pain. Get another Drs opinion ASAP. I really never had pain other than minor healing pain. Additionally as I began walking my hammertoe was tender for a bit but throughout my entire healing thus far, 4 months or so to date, I never had the pain you're describing.
I've stubbed my toe and it became purple and still was not as painful as you describe.
Certainly by 8 weeks you should be feeling much bette than you describe.
I really hope this improves soon for you!
Terri