Hallux Valgus & Hammer Toe Surgery Gone Wrong

Hi All

I have been reading all of your comments and now I will tell you mine!

I won't go into great detail as it will take all day!

Basically I had foot surgery 3 years ago (removal of neuroma nerves in my right foot), this op never made any difference in pain relief and was told that I had developed hypersensitivity and was fobbed off. I persisted and told them that it was the same pain as before the surgery. Hence, I was sent for a scan and it revealed the nerves had grew back; was told by the surgeon that this was the first time it had ever happened to him, he even said he went to the lab to make sure that he had removed them in the first place!! They had to be removed again, which I was dreading as it's really painful.

In May 2013, I underwent major surgery to the same foot. I was told that not only did the neuroma nerves need removing but I also needed my bunion removed, big toe shortened and straightened, 2nd and 3rd toe shortened and straightened and staples in the side of my foot. From then on I am in constant pain still. To cut a long story short; on one of my follow up apps, an x ray was taken by a registrar, where it was missed that the Screws had dislodged in my foot and I was sent to physio. The physio told me to rock back and forwards on my big toe to get movement back...ouch!!! The next appt where I actually saw the consultant, he then told me that the registrar had missed it on the x ray!!! Good practice ay! I was then told to see if bones uniform together, if not then they would 'have to TRY and find a way of fixing it!' My bunion has returned worse than before, I am walking on the side of my foot so my foot has spread and developed a new bunion on the other side. I got no flexibility in my big toe at all and my toes are discoloured. I have asked if I have vascular problems and this has been passed off. The consultant offered me a second opinion and actually said to me 'I don't blame you if you never want to see me again!'

I should have started a new job at the hospital last July, where obviously I wasn't able to; I was fortunate that they saved my place for the end of January of this year. However I am now working 12.5 hr days, 3 days a week, where I actually feel disabled as I am unable to walk properly. I am scared I am making it worse and scared that if I take legal advice, it may be thrown at me that I carried on working even though I was in pain. I actually have an interview today at uni, as my ambition is to work in theatre assisting the surgeon (ODP). I feel that my future work has been affected by all of this, as obviously my career does involve long periods of standing and walking.

Any advice from anyone would be much appreciated as I don't know which way to turn.

Thanks

Hello everyone - Kate, sorry to hear of your problems. As for finding any infomation about surgical outcomes it seems really difficult. The only official info I have found re orthopaedics is deaths after knee / hip replacements - important but not really helpful! There are estimates for success rates for various procedures but not readily accessible, you have to trawl the medical literature to find them. I have found one site that gives feedback re.individual doctors (doctoralia) but it seems to be mostly a place for positive feedback. I did find a reference to the surgical team for my op which was reassuring but that does not help everyone else.

There is a (new?) website patientopinion.org.uk that has all sorts of feedback about hospitals in various parts of UK, including some responses from administrators but it is still a long way from finding the information we might want.

There is, I think, a real problem with communication from the medical profession and a difference in perception between 'good' surgical outcome and patient experience / expectations. This website goes some way to filling that gap. It would be good if some of the medics / surgeons were reading!

Hi

Kate I am so sorry you are having such a terrible time, I totally sympathise with you. I understand your concerns regarding the work situation, my job also requires me to be on my feet 7hrs a day, although I only do 3 days a week I know for a fact I couldn't even do an hour!

I think you should have a consultation with a lawyer (1st appt is free) or with Citizens Advice and explain your situation.

Polly thanks for the link to the site, I'll have a look. It is very frustrating that we can't find any information regarding surgeons mistakes/errors during surgery, It would be very helpful

The results from my bone scan revealed there is nerve damage to a degree, I explained that my toes are not always discoloured, this happens after wearing shoes for a period. While in the surgery he noticed the toes change colour and again said how this concerns him, he is referring me to a Vascular consultant for his opinion. He recommends me to have further surgery to my right foot, basically the same one I have had, but also the 4th toe, (which should have been done in the 1st op)

Tracey

Hi Tracey and others

I've had a bad few days so have made another appointmemt with my GP to see if they can refer me to a 'specialist' to test for nerve damage. I'm coming to the conclusion I will need further surgery but terrified of the thought. has anyone gone on after a fisrt poor surgery to have a second successful surgery? Especially where there was extensive nerve pain?

Thanks

Hi there. I've not been on here since 24th Feb. So I thought I would update my progress. I had bunion surgery, hammertoe (2nd toe) and 4th toe correction on the 17th Jan. I am 10 weeks post op now. I've had my ups and downs! At 6/7 weeks I had a lot of swelling. Mostly across top of foot and my 4th toe. Pain, burning, tingling, twitching and foot wet with sweat! Also very red discoloured skin and itching. I went back to see my surgeon who said he couldn't find any infection, and to keep it elevated and cool, and to take and use ibuprofen. I rested as much as I could and wore a soft wine bottle cooler over my foot. This really did help. After thinking it would never go down..it did. I have good movement in big toe joint, hammertoe feels strange as I don't have much feeling in it, and the feeling of it touching my next toes feels weird! My 4th toe doesn't seem right, it is a bit twisted and swollen, and is painful. This is toe that the wire came out 3 days early. I saw my surgeon yesterday and he said to leave the 4th toe another month to heal. He said another 6 months for it all to heal, and possibly a to heal fully. I saw my xray and was a amazed that instead of one screw in my big toe, I have 2 screws and a staple.

I am wearing 'toe socks' like gloves for your feet, which are good for keeping the toes separate while my nerve ends heal and they stop that awful feeling when they are touching each other!

I am wearing my own boots/shoes, but wearing 1 and a half sizes bigger.

I have been reading all your posts and will carry on following you all on 'our journey to happy comfortable feet'.

Ann the Foot. X

Hi all,

Tracey, I really feel for you and can totally understand the pain you are in and how the medical profession

play our pain down.

I had a bunion operation in jan 2012, was left in constant pain. jan 2014 had screws taken out because they were too long and would need 2 weeks off work. well its been 3 months and still in excruciating pain. especially when i attempt to wear any shoes. I can wear trainers and take short walks but this still leads to my

toes going grey/black/purple, swelling and pain.

My job involves standing for long periods and I am worried that I'll now become unemployed. at 53 what are my chances of finding another job!?

My surgeon hasn't taken this seriously, went for a second opinion but didn't get any opinion, just advice to have steroids injected into the bone.

I'm angry, very angry, and just want someone to tell me what has gone wrong and can it now be fixed, is

that too much to ask?

I went from being pain free, enjoying my job, playing tennis, golf and long walks to feeling trapped at

home.

Sorry to go on but I feel abandoned by an arrogant profession who seem to want to brush me aside like a fly :-(

Hi all fellow sufferers,

Katie, I know what you mean about work. I really need to get back and earning. Although i don't know if i could even manage a day I need to try to get back. If I could muddle through how would this affect my complaints? I want the surgeon held to account but if i manage to work (with great difficulty) my complaints wont be taken seriously.

I don't want to work whilst in severe pain but who's going to pay my bills - the surgeon?

Sorry I cant be of any help to you but I can fully understand your concerns.

Terri

Hi Terri

I am sorry you are having such a horrendous time like me

I want my 'surgeon' (i use the term loosely) held accountable aswell, I am furious with how I have been treated and with how I have been left.

As for the work situation, well it just gets better..............

I was asked in to see my personnel manager yesterday. I thought it was to update them, so I took in my hospital letter stating I was due to have more surgery. Turns out, I am being 'dismissed' on medical grounds!! Because after my next surgery it will be over a year I would have been off work and as I can't give them a definate date to return they can't keep my job for me. 14yrs I have been there! I can't blame them and they have been really good with me, but I am so angry, because of this so called surgeon, I am in agony, deformed and now out of a job

Tracey

Oh no, I really feel for you Tracey. Your employers have been patient I suppose and need to fill your space.

You have had your whole life turned upside down. This is what worries me also, I really cant see me being able to get another job at my age (53) with the job market being as it is.

And what job could I do?

The second opinion I got was no help. Just told me to have steroid injections into the bone bone to start with to see if that helps. I'm going to seek a third opinion because I want to know what went wrong, why it went wrong, what can be done and will I ever get near normal use again.

I want all this information at my fingertips because I cant take anything they say on trust anymore.

My surgeon has ruined my life, I used to play golf, tennis and enjoy long walks. All that has gone.

He says "oh well some people take more time to heal" (2 years?) or "its just one of those things"

He has crippled me, he has left me in constant pain. He has left me not knowing if I can ever go back to work. All my worries have turned to anger now.

So I can fully understand your predicament and of others, its just a shame we have to wonder in the wilderness to find an answer we all need when we have lost trust.

Terri

Hi Tracey and Terri

I really feel for you both. I just fail to understand how surgeons can do this to people and take no responsibility. I've been able to hang onto my job since surgery 14 months ago simply because it's a desk job and I have a car parking space at work. I still only go in 3 days a week and work from home 2 days a week - this was always meant to be a short term measure but my manager has been very supportive. (It's one of the reasons I haven't gone down the legal route - as I haven't lost income so think it would be hard to get any settlement on that basis). I have had to wear open toed flat sandals throughout winter and still have pain pretty much all day every day. I did go back to my GP AGAIN last week who's sending me back to the pain specialist. I'm still on that 'merry go round' (pass the buck). I don't want to 'manage my pain' - I want to get rid of it. I had no pain other than some night toe cramps if I wore heels during the day and walked for any length of time before this surgery - in retrospect the 'specialist' I thought I was seeing should have said 'go away if not in pain' but he didn't. I didn't even get the choice of getting one foot at a time - he did both together so I have pain in both feet all the time. If I mucked up like this at work, I'm pretty sure I'd get sacked. Did either of you complain to the hospital?

Terri - where did you have your surgery?

I had this operation 6 weeks ago, I only had a boot and bandaged toes.I had four toes broken and metal pins inserted. After two weeks I had stitches out, by nurse, never saw surgeon . I then had to wait for four more weeks to have pins out. No info given again I did not see surgeon. The nurse took pins out told me it was over could carry on a s normal now, but toes very swollen still cannot out foot down. No info given no after care nothing. Cannot get it wet for four more days. Pain still bad cannot get any shoes or slippers on.

Hi all,

Beth, I had it done with greenwich nhs trust. a foot specialist service. Its good that your employer is so understanding and i agree that the surgeon should have seen you out the door if there wasn't much discomfort before surgery.

This was the case for me too, I had minimal discomfort and could do all the things i wanted to before surgery. I had already had the other foot done with no problems but this was a different surgeon who assured me he was a "proper" surgeon. If i had known then that he was a podiatrist that also did surgery i would have run a mile.

I have contacted work to get back, i need the money but will have to see if i can cope when i get there. I too, don't want to manage my pain, i want my life back. The sad thing is that the medical profession don't give a damn about us.

I'm not happy with the second opinion as the surgeon was only interested in what he can book me in for, I could almost see the pound signs in front of his eyes!

So, I am now going to see another surgeon but have to pay privately. He wants me to bring along as much medical info as i can to give an accurate assessment.

I don't know if the foot team will give me any of the records or the numerous x-rays i have had and don't know if i have the right to ask for them.

I just want to know what went wrong and why.

Terri

Hi all

I hope you are all improving and things getting better for everyone. I've seen some small improvements but still struggling to accept what's happened. I did in the end write a complaint letter to the hospital after the pain specialist suggested that any pain now is permanent because it's over a year. I'm waiting to hear back but yesterday, when looking at the hospital website, I noticed my consultants name had disappeared. On further investigation I found that he has now 'relinquished his licence to practice' with the GMC. On the plus side it means he can't butcher anyone else but I am a little suspicious about this action - wht do surgeons relinquish their licences to practice? He's nowhere near retirement age. 

Hi Tracey. I realize it is 5 months since your posts but am wondering how you are doing. Hopefully you are still getting email notifications for this thread and hopefully you are doing well. 😃

I must say that it is quite intimidating when consultants 'cover their backs' by saying that if a procedure doesn't work, then there is nothing more to be done.  I had a hammer toe (the second toe) 'corrected' about 3 years ago - I had found it difficult to wear shoes on that foot.  Within a few months of the operation, that toe started to rise into the air again and the third toe gradually moved under it, so they repeated the procedure, this time breaking the third toe also, and both toes were 'fused'.  During the aftercare, the consultant said that if it happened again, then 'that was just the nature of the beast', in that there was nothing more to be done.  Unfortunately, the second toe is now sticking up again and the third toe is moving underneath it again and actually touches the big toe.  I did have physiotherapy after the last op. but it was impossible to do what was asked (ie keep bending the toes down) as they were both fused and straight, so I felt it wasn't at all productive.  Although at the moment I can still wear shoes, I fear that there will come a time when I will find that I can't.  Is there anything that I can buy to keep that wretched toe in place - I have looked online and can't find the appropriate thing.  Otherwise, do I 'bother' my consultant again?