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A Short Summary and photos of My Bunion/Hammer Toe Experience

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De33ie
De33ie

Just thought I'd make the dates and procedures easier to read, without having to go through all the details I bored everyone with in the previous version. smile

February 1, 2018: I had Lapidus surgery on right foot for bunion and hammer toe correction. Two screws were placed across the first TMT joint, and I had joint resection of the second toe with a pin inserted. A plaster type cast was put on up to my knee. I was to be non-weight bearing on foot for six weeks.

February 13, 2018: First post-surgery appointment. Surgical cast was removed, had stitches taken out of hammer toe (the pin was left in), surgical tape was put in place of the stitches. The stitches over the TMT joint were self-dissolving and surgical tape was left in place and a new fiberglass cast was put on up to the knee again.

March 13, 2018: The fiberglass cast was removed, x-rays taken, pin removed from the second toe and I was given a boot to wear.

April 3, 2018: Had X-rays taken and I was given a walking shoe to use if needed for support.

May 15, 2018: Had X-rays taken and final exam.

I'm not sure if these photos will post in the order that I arranged them in so I'll describe them:

The photo of my feet without toenail polish is before surgery.

The surgical cast is the white plaster cast with brown elastic type bandage over part of it.

The second cast was purple fiberglass with an opening at the  toe area.

The photo of my purple foot with surgical tape on it was on March 14, the day after the purple fiberglass cast was removed. It turned purple and swollen whenever I was not elevating it enough and the color returned to normal whenever I elevated it.

The boot was pretty large and ugly but it protected my foot well (and it was a size 7 U.S. My shoe size is actually between a size 6 & 7 U.S., depending on the shoe).

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • debbie08326
    debbie08326 De33ie

    Posted

    Hi Dr 

    Ok I feel as though your foot wasn’t even that bad at all ? Was it hurting that why you decided to have surgery ? And thank you for the pictures !

    Debbie 

  • debbie08326
    debbie08326 De33ie

    Posted

    Hi Dr 

    Ok I feel as though your foot wasn’t even that bad at all ? Was it hurting that why you decided to have surgery ? And thank you for the pictures !

    Debbie 

    • De33ie
      De33ie debbie08326

      Posted

      Hi debbie, You're welcome. That photo is kind of small so you can't see it very well, sorry about that, but it didn't seem to look that bad to me either.

      I just knew it was really hurting all the time at that point. It felt like I was walking on a large stone on the ball of my foot plus the bunion and second toe hurt pretty bad quite a bit and I was limping more often than not.

      I didn't want to do any further damage to my foot or damage anything else such as my knee or my back from having to limp. The doctor said it wouldn't get better on it's own so I knew it was time.

      I forgot to mention that the photo of my feet WITH the toenail polish on them was taken on July 23, 2018.

  • De33ie
    De33ie

    Posted

    I just wanted to add that depending on the type of surgery used to correct your hammertoe, you may or may not be able to bend your toe once it has healed. My surgeon said that I will have some movement but not like I used to. I had joint resection of the second toe with a pin inserted at the same time they corrected the bunion because it was hurting more often than not.

    I can move my toe at the MTP joint (the joint that connects my toe to my foot) but not at the PIP (the middle) joint or the DIP (the end) joint.

    Ask your surgeon what type of surgery is needed for your hammertoe and how it will affect the movement of your toe/toes.

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