Is my age preventing me from being given the correct treatment?

I have had two hammer toe ops over the past few years on my second toe (right foot), the last about 3 years ago.  The toe has started gradually started to stick up in the air (it has a pin in it) and the third toe started curving to occupy the space over a year ago, and now touches the big toe, with the fourth and fifth toes following it.  This means that I have three toes all colliding and over the past year I have had terrible sciatica type pains up my right leg, in my ankle, on my calf etc etc which I am convinced is the result of me walking badly.  The tread on my shoe on that foot is very different to the other shoe.  I got referred back to the hospital, where I went today and the consultant has questioned whether it is the deformed toes that are causing all that pain in my legs.  The toes themselves don't hurt (apart from blisters where they all converge), and the consultant has said that he will send me for a shoe support and only if I still have the pain after four months will he consider giving me an operation.  The support will not straighten the wonky toes so I really can't understand why he can't see that I have deformed toes, all in a heap.  I asked if he couldn't straighten the third toe with an operation and redo the second toe but he said that the advantage would be minimal.  Do consultants have an 'age limit' where they think it's not worth doing ops?  I am 65 years old, not 95!  I know there are cuts in local health services but feel that if I had been 20 years younger he would have operated without a second thought.

0 likes, 4 replies