Huge pressure in foot after bunion surgery

Hi. I have just had bunion surgery two weeks ago. I have been resting. Only getting off sofa for toilet breaks. I am due to get dressings off and stitches out tomorrow. So far so good I think. Can I ask now that you are 3 months in if the "foot exploding" feeling when you walk is subsiding. Also I keep having sharp pains intermittently in the area. I take it that will be the nerves fusing together again. I had pins put in. I am experiencing a bit of numbness now and again. I take it that is normal. I have been elevating and icing and doing what I was advised. But the "foot explosion" feeling is unbearable. Just hoping it passes with time. I work 12 hour shifts although won't be at work for at least the next 4 months.

Hi, I can reassure you that the "foot exploding" feeling does go. I'm just over 3 months now and am walking quite well and able to weight bear on most of my foot now. Still have  moments of pain that shoots through the joint of my big toe sometimes especially if I do too much walking. The skin all around my toe has been extremely tender and sensitive but that is slowly easing. 

Your doing the right thing in keeping the foot elevated and iced....keep it elevated as much as you possibly can, it really will help with the swelling and the healing.

I only have a little swelling now usually at the end of the day. One thing to be careful of is when they say for you to start wearing normal shoes again. I'm still only wearing very wide soft slip ons. 

Stay positive it will get better. 

Thanks for that. Feeling reassured. 😊

I just had bunion surgery 4 days ago! Just wanted to say hi, since all the other posters were so long ago. Mine was the right foot and I have multiple pins/screws in. I am non weight bearing for 6 weeks and then 2 more weeks on the boot. I actually didn't take any pain killers today as it's not so much painful as it is super tight/feels like it's gonna explode. Or the stitches could rip out. Kinda crazy feeling. Hope you're doing better!

Hiya. The secret to your healing is get that foot elevated above your heart. Prop your feet up overnight with pillows under your mattress. I am now 13weeks post op. Still having slight swelling but at least I am now back to having good mobility. I cannot walk for long periods though. I was also told not to take anti inflamatories as they impede the bone healing. I had the "exploding foot" feeling until week 8. I had my stitches removed in week 6 and was advised not to weight bear on my foot for another two weeks and that's when the swelling started to subside. I was heel walking and I also used cool packs to help with the pain and I also had the burning sensation that others have experienced. I could not get a shoe on until a couple of weeks ago. I wore walking sandals with the Velcro. Seems really soon for your doctor to have you on your feet. I had a bunion removed and my toe re aligned. Also with pins in so sounds similar to yourself. It seems the healing is a slow process for this type of surgery. I assume its because our full weight is on these wee bones. I am still astounded when I look down and see a straight foot. My consultant said I would need to wait at least another 9 months for my other foot to be done to ensure my first foot has healed. I am in my fifties so that is also a factor in the equation. At 3 weeks post op I was very downhearted and felt every day very long. I also felt that I would never get back on my feet. 10 weeks later I am almost back to pre op mobility. You will get there. Patience seems to be the key

Good luck

Thank you for the response, I will definitely keep elevating while sleeping and sitting and keep icing more often. I will also go back to keeping most of my weight bearing on my heal and see if that helps. Nice to know about the exploding foot feeling because I have that and I also feel like my foot is burning all the time. I am also 50 so I am guessing this will just be a slow process as well. I guess it will just be a longer process since I will be doing both feet basically at the same time.

Hi.  Are you sure that you want to go ahead with the second surgery, so soon after the first?  You do have a choice in the matter, and you are right to be concerned.  Ask your surgeon why he feels it is necessary to operate on the second foot before the first one has healed, and then make your own choice and stick by it.  I can't think of any reason why you could not wait for your foot to heal before doing another surgery.  I wish you the best of luck!

Hi jparker93.  I think you should definitely still be icing and elevating your foot.  My surgery was 5-1/2 weeks ago, and it was less extensive than yours.  I have no screws and my incision is smaller, but at 4 weeks, since I still had swelling and discomfort, the doctor said yes, ice and elevate as much as possible.  He made me promise, however, that I would not put anything on the incision, especially anything oily, which he said would cause the scarred area to soften, get thinner, stretch, and ultimately be weaker than surrounding skin.  However, I know that other doctors do prescribe various oils and medications for the scar, so you should probably ask your doctor before using anything.  I think burning and tingling are pretty much part of the process.  I still have both, but it gets better every week. 

I have more swelling than I should at this point.  Basically, the bottom of my foot in front is puffed up to about 1/2 inch of extra thickness.  The doctor describes it as failure to heal.  I think all I can do is continue with ice and elevation.

Here's a question for anyone who can answer it:  The doctor said to start wearing an athletic shoe (trainer) as soon as I could, and if the foot would not go in, I should wear my husband's shoe, which is much wider.  I did that for the first few days, then got lazy and spent half my time barefoot.  I think my swelling got worse after that.  Have I made things worse for myself?  Once the athletic shoe went on, was I supposed to wear it all the time for the padding? 

I was able to squash my foot into my own trainer a couple of days ago, but it was a tight fit and I walked on it quite a bit, taking my daughter to the hospital for an MRI, which turned into quite a hike.  Did that tight fit cause even more swelling, or is a tight shoe a good thing, providing compression?

I think our doctors don't tell us enough about the recovery process.  Any help from discussion members is appreciated!

My right foot is now about a month and a half out and I still have the burning sensation as well , I was told this was normal due to the nerves in the foot. I still have quite a bit of swelling so My Dr has me using 800ml of Ibuprofen a day and I am still icing as well. I use silicone strips on my scars, you can get them from a pharmacy or a plastic surgeon. I have had 8 surgeries on my knee, I have about a 7 inch incision and they have worked wonders making the scar look better.

I did go ahead and do the second surgery and I am on crutches right now if I am up at all. My right foot feels pretty good being able to put pressure on it just need to control the swelling. The swelling is much better now then it was after the surgery as I can now get it back into my shoes. I will need to have orthotics when both of my feet are back to normal. I can say this, other than the burning sensation that I am feeling from the surgery my feet do feel tons better than they did before I had the surgery.

Thanks Kathy. I’m icing and elevating as I type this. I have been elevating all along, but stopped icing about a week ago since I didn’t think it would still be helpful.   As for the Vaseline, I was thinking of just putting it on the scabbed over portion of the incision, not the scarred tissue, but you think that’s not a good idea?  It’s just so uncomfortable to be doing the toe exercises I have to do cuz it pulls on the scabbed area of the incision on my toe, ugh!!  

I too still have some swelling, but it’s getting better, cannstart to see some structure in the top of my foot, but the ball of my foot is still pretty puffy. I doubt I’ll fit into my sneaker this Wednesday, but he wants me to bring it in. I’ll let you know what my doctor says about wearing it this week when I go. 

I have to say, after the fourth day after surgery, the worse is the stabbing pains I feel in my toe, man that is so awful. And of course sleeping with my foot elevator is no fun either 😖. 

Thanks again for your reply. 

GO PATRIOTS!!!

Thank you for responding. My incision is still just scabbed, but the scar looks great so far. I think he did an awesome job with the suturing. 

I can’t believe you are still having that burning sensation. Do you also get quick stabbing pains in you toe on occasion?  Man, I hate that, but I notice if I put a little pressure on the tip of my toe when it happens it helps, but that’s not always easy.  Did your doctor say how long the burning sensation would go away?

I’m glad to hear you are doing well and your second surgery is progressing well. Keep up the good work. I’m not sure I’ll even consider doing my other foot now. This has been such a huge pain in the buttt. 

Thanks again, and have a great night.