Elevated toes after bunion surgery

Hi Trici I know this is an old message but I was just wondering if that problem rectified itself and your toes are now normal? As I too had bunion surgery on both feet just over 2 months ago. My left foot is perfect and so was my right one up until 2 weeks ago I am getting very bad pain in second toe and on top of foot and now my big toe has elevated and doesn't touch the floor! Where as before this pain it did. I am hoping it will get back to normal or if I need to be doing certain excercises??

Thankyou

Hi Tricie, I have the same problem with my second toe, that I had a hammer toe surgery and the 2nd toe is lifted up. My doctor said to manipulate it and hold it down for 30 seconds 5x, and to do it 2 times a day which I am doing, and sorry to say I have been doing this for 3 weeks and I haven't seen a difference, but will continue to do so hoping I will see a difference in time,

I had a hammertoe operation, from one doctor. My right foot is fine but on my left foot my 4th digit is considered to be a floppy toe. Now the doctor did not tell me this, but he insisted on getting me shots for the pain. The toe had worsen, and my toe on my left foot was now sticking out in the direction of the left. My pain had worsen and worsen but the doctor did not want to correct it. I found another doctor, and we both decided it would be a good idea to take out the implant. So I did, now the toe was still on the same position. now I'm looking into fusion for the toe to have it straighten !! ????????????...

I had my surgery to remove bunion and to correct hammertoe in November of 2015.  It has been a nightmare, to the point I wish I had never had it done.  My big toe is elevated to the point that it would be perfect if I wore 6 inch heels.  I have saw another Dr.  he recommends a redo because it is causing all the weight of my foot to rest on the metatarsil and that is beyond painful.  I wear Walmart brand Danson with memory foam almost 24/7.  I can not walk on a bare floor without them.  Been almost a year and not a good outlook.

I have had my big toe fused, 2 yrs ago still having problems with swelling. My main problem now is my second toe which was nice and straight is pressing on the floor as the big toe is up out of the way, it gets pretty sore on the tip. Trying to buy something to lift it, plenty of separators but nothing to lift. Anyone know of anything.

 

Hello, I have the same issues. My big toe is slightly elevated and I still have swelling 9 weeks post surgery. its discouraging because I still can't fit my shoes and it hurts sometimes. My doctor said it's normal for the toe to do that because the skin and tissue heal tight. He said to massage it and do my toe exercises to loosen it up and decrease the scar tissue from remaining tight. I am so OVER the swelling! However many people have shared with me it took 6 months to 1 year for swelling to completely subside. Hang in there... ice packs and elevation are still my best friends.

I have searched everywhere for help. My big toe still does not touch the floor after bunion surgery 2 years ago. I have done P.T. with no help.

My surgery was in January. My big toe is elevated, i have random pain on the too of my foot near where the screws are located. I saw the Dr last week and he said the elevation is from scar tissue. He ordered PT for the next month, but said another surgery could be necessary. Tonight i was walking through a dark room barefoot and stubbed it HARD! Massive pain again!

I had bunion surgery 11 months ago and it never healed , so after months of telling my doctor something is wrong, he finally took more x-rays and seen my bone didn't fuse back together like its supposed to. now I have a bone stimulator and a foot boot. My big toe is elevated also called flail toe or floating toes. it will be a year next month. it hasn't gone down at all. I can put my pinky finger underneath it, without touching it. I know something has to be done, I'm totally off balance. And it effects my other toes, which are taking all the weight. I also have hammer toes, claw toes, and curl toes. My doctor just dismisses me like nothing's wrong and his job is over, about to shake my hand, oh, no no no. it just began. Malpractice

I am 2 months post surgery from big toe implant surgery and have the same elevated toe problems. it is very difficult because all of my weight is bearing down on my second toe with every step. has your situation improved?

i am miserable...my 4 non-big toes are elevated too. so much that the metatarsals on the bottom of my foot feel like they are protruding ...very very sensitive. i had the surgery on 4/20/2021. "celebrate" Week 11 this Tuesday 7/6, and am still in a lot of pain. i am seeking input and feed back as my surgeon is not so responsive and refers everything to his very terse PA. i am a super fit 61 YO. was warned that recovery would be brutal, but had every expectation that i would bounce back handily in 2 1/2 - 3 months. instead , i haven't even been "released" to walk on y own, only to use just one crutch instead of two, and to start putting weight on the foot. i am still in pain, and the pig swells all the time. i am doing the following:

i ice it after every outing / lengthy time out and about

i elevate

i do PT prescribed therapy 2-3 times a day (and ice after doing so)

i have my chiropractor ultrasound the foot 1-2 times per week (not the incissions, nor where the screws are)

i massage the incissions w/neosporin and CBD based ointments (the skin looks great, but the tendons beneath still are painful, and feel like electric stinging jolts are invading!)

i wrap an ace bandage ...... Yet, i am still swelling daily and hurt like hell. is this usual and ordinary?

i am probably not using the hard Breg walking boot 24-7, but certainly use it when i leave the house, or go put of the house to work around the yard. in the house, i use the toe space, with a loose sock over it, an ace bandage and then put on the soft hard bottomed boot...which i am still sleeping in.

i'm a pathetic mess....is this normal, or do i expect that there was a complication?

Fair warning - this reply is long.

MY SITUATION :

My big toe is completely elevated off the ground after a failed bunionectomy by a highly regarded podiatrist who was recommended and referred to me by my Primary Care Physician. My index finger fits under my big toe with room to spare when my foot is on the ground. And my physical abilities are now limited because of it.

SURGERY:

I freaked out when I first saw my big toe after my bunionectomy - it was lifted off the ground and slightly pointing away from my other toes. My doctor explained that the tendon is tight at the moment and that it would loosen up over time and the toe would return to the ground within a few months. He said I would see the improvement along the way. Well, my big toe eventually no longer pointed away from the other toes, but it remained elevated. About 4 months after the surgery, the doctor said the staple and screw were likely getting in the way and that he could remove that hardware, along with any internal scarring that may be preventing the toe from grounding, and the toe should return to its normal grounded position. Had the surgery, and it didn't work. No swelling remains, yet my big toe continues to be elevated.

PHYSICAL SSUES:

The knuckle area of my big toe grinds against the ground and hurts if I put any weight on it, so I'm having to walk on the side of my foot which is causing foot stress, corns, and pain on my pinky-toe side. I now walk with a limp when I try walking with any speed. Can't jog or run, can't wear closed toe shoes because my elevated big toe rubs up against the inside top of the shoe and sometimes catches on the top which starts to snap back my toe (freaks me out). Sometimes my back muscles hurt by the end of the day from the movements caused from limping. I used to ice skate regularly (about 4 times a week), but I can't do that anymore because I can't wear the closed-toe ice skating boot, and I can't put my weight on my big toe side.

UNCOMMON PROBLEM?

My doctor is highly regarded in his field and has done hundreds (maybe thousands?) of bunionectomies over the years. He's well seasoned in this field. But he told me that he has never encountered this issue (elevated big toe) before. I asked him what he thinks caused the problem, and he said, "I don't know." I asked him how it can be fixed, and he said, "I don't know." I asked what the next step would be, and he said, "I don't know."

I'm now trying to find a doctor who has seen this happen before and is able to determine what to do to fix it, and I'm finding this to be very difficult.Is this issue (elevated big toe from failed bunionectomy) really that uncommon???

MY RESEARCH :

Maybe this issue really is an uncommon failure resulting from a bunionectomy, I say that because it was incredibly difficult to find anything on the internet that sounds anything like the big-toe-elevation problem I'm having. However, I did find this one article by Dr. Neil Blitz from 2014 that sounds similar:

https://www.hmpgloballearningnetwork.com/site/podiatry/current-concepts-revisional-bunion-surgery

It says, "A patient had a distal metatarsal osteotomy bunionectomy, which resulted in a big toe that lifted off the ground." it goes on to say that the resulting pressure from the way the person now had to walk had caused pain at the sesamoid bones beneath the big toe. Then it said, "The elevated toe was due to a malunion of the osteotomy..." So the bones weren't aligned properly during surgery - that's what caused the elevated/pointed-upwards (dorsiflexed) toe in this person's case. The correction surgery involved a bone graft and realigning the big toe bones into their normal/grouded position.

CONCLUSION :

The conclusion to this matter for me is yet to be determined. I will continue my search for a new doctor/surgeon/podiatrist/orthopedist/whomever who is familiar with this issue and can fix it. And in the meantime, I'm mentally preparing myself for another surgery.