My bunion/hammer toe surgery experience

I just wanted to share my bunion/hammer toe surgery experience with anyone who may be searching for information or comfort and encouragement. (I apologize for the lengthiness of this) I know every situation is different so any information from my experience may or may not pertain to someone else's situation. For my husband and I, being able to search and find information from what other people had gone through was a Godsend, especially when we saw how purple my foot (and leg) became the evening after having my cast removed!

I'm 53 years old, 5’3”, average sized, I get bored easily so I keep pretty active & I’m in overall good health. I’m a married mother of 2 and a stay at home grandmother of 2 children ages 6 and 8 yrs. old. I have never had to have a cast before and the only surgery I've ever had was a tonsillectomy when I was 11 years old.

I’ve had bunions for years (due to being flat footed and wearing high heals) and it was to the point that my right foot’s toes were becoming crooked and when I stepped on my foot, it felt like I was stepping on a large stone just under the toes on the bottom side, the ball of my foot.  My second toe was arching downward, hurting and not lying flat anymore and was above and slightly over my great toe. It was now a “hammer toe”.

Preparation prior to the day of surgery my doctor had told me to do calf stretching exercises, so a couple of months before surgery I made sure to do those daily. I pre-paid bills and made sure laundry was caught up. I froze portions of meals a few weeks prior for easier meal preparation later on and posted a list of what was in the freezer for others to see. My husband scheduled vacation time for the week after surgery and my daughters were also available to help. We also had my prescription for the pain medicine filled prior to the day of surgery, which was Norco 10/325. We bought an All-Terrain knee scooter which turned out to be a Godsend! I did practice on the scooter and the tires did put tire marks on the floors but cleaned off easily enough and we also removed the area rugs from the floors of our single story (thank goodness) home.  I bought pants that would stretch easily to fit over my cast.  I also made sure to increase my water intake a couple of days before surgery for easier IV placement. My husband placed a medium sized cardboard box upside down over the foot of my side of our bed with the flaps tucked under the mattress but over the covers to protect my foot from the cat in case she were to jump up onto that area as she likes to do. We also put wedge pillows under the covers to raise the covers high enough to keep the covers from tugging on my foot. We re-arranged furniture to clear the path for the scooter and placed night lights in darker areas of the house. I put things I would need in the basket of the scooter and I also attached a grabber to my scooter with a small bungie cord. I made sure to have a laniard to wear around my neck with my cell phone attached if I happened to be at home alone for any amount of time.

For my showers I would wrap my cast in a standard kitchen sized garbage bag with a large rubber band just past the top of the cast to keep out any water. I placed a step stool in the shower to sit on  and hung my leg over the edge of the bathtub and closed the shower curtain over the top of my leg and used the hand held shower sprayer.

 On February 1, 2018 I had “Lapidus” surgery on my right foot to correct bunion and a hammer toe on the second toe.  I had to have General anesthesia because the condition of my foot was considered extensive and would take 2 hours to repair. They gave me something for nauseousness about an hour before the surgery and about thirty seconds before taking me to surgery they gave me something to relax me, they said it was similar to what Tequila does to you.  :-) I felt that take affect as I was being wheeled into the operating room.  The last thing I remember was them putting the mask for the anesthesia over my mouth and nose. Things went as expected during the surgery. They put in two screws in the top of my foot and a long pin in the second toe to correct the hammer toe. The next thing I remember I was in recovery and the nurse was telling me it was over and I could wake up now, needless to say I didn’t want to so I fell back to sleep and she told me once again that I could wake up now. That time I managed to open my eyes and look around and was dizzy and a little nauseous. The nurse asked me how I felt and I told her I was nauseous from the dizziness and she said I was pretty pale and would give me something for the nauseousness. I reminded her they gave me something before surgery and she said it obviously wasn’t enough and that it would be okay to give me more. The more awake I became, the more the nurse commented on how my color was getting better. They wheeled a portable x-ray machine to my bed and took x-rays of my foot and then my husband came in and helped me to the wheelchair and got me to the restroom where I got dressed. I was told I wouldn’t be able to put any weight at all on my foot for six weeks. They gave me crutches and sized them about six inches from below my armpits so that they didn’t reach all the way up into my underarms to keep them from making my underarms from getting too sore.  After I got the okay from the doctor I was released.

On the ride home, I made the mistake of riding in the front seat of the car (2012 Toyota Highlander). I ended up putting my foot up on the dashboard of the car so as not to put too much pressure on the plaster cast’s heal area in case it wasn’t dry enough yet. (I was too nauseous to have my husband pull over so I could get in the back seat, I just wanted to get home and it would only take about 20 minutes to get there). For future rides in the car I would sit in the back seat facing forward behind the folded down front passenger seat with my leg propped up on it which seemed to be the most comfortable.

After we got home I rode my knee scooter from the garage to the bedroom. I was still a little nauseous so I just wanted to get into bed. After I settled into bed I ate something so I could take my pain medicine then went to sleep for about four hours. They told me to keep my foot propped up "nose to toes level"  to reduce the swelling and to put an ice pack under my knee so as to reduce the pain and I should do this often and anytime there is any swelling. I was shaky the first night from the anesthesia still being in my system. The doctor had said I could take Aleve for inflammation and the Norco for pain, however, I would need to space taking those two medications a couple of hours apart. We kept a list of my medication schedule so there would be no second guessing of the times taken.

For the first couple of days after surgery, my foot didn’t hurt much at all due to the fact that the anesthesia was still in my system. (This is where I’ll mention the embarrassing fact about the smell of my urine, but hey we all do it.) For the few days after the surgery my urine had a strange odor which, to my understanding was the anesthesia being flushed out of my body. While I’m on the subject, wearing no undies made it much easier to maneuver when needing to use the toilet. I was also more emotional for the first several days which is a side affect of the pain medicine they gave me at the hospital. One concern I had was sleeping then waking up to get up in the middle of the night and forgetting I had just had foot surgery (thankfully, that never happened). A few times my toes made painful involuntary movements while sleeping which woke me up and that was painful but it only lasted a few seconds.  

The Norco caused major constipation so I ate Fiber granola bars & a stool softener with every pain pill which was very helpful.  I was concerned with becoming dependent on the pain medication (I don’t like taking any kind of medication that’s not absolutely necessary) so after the first several days I took half the dose (instead of 10 mg, I took 5 mg) of the pain pills for a couple of weeks then halved again for the next couple of weeks. I took none after cast came off until I started walking on the boot, then I just took the  smaller amount,  2.5 mg during the day and the 5.0 mg at night, then gradually tapered off all together (which is what is supposed to be done but they don’t tell you that part).

On Feb. 13, 2018 (1 week & 5 days after surgery) I had the first (post-surgery) cast removed and the stitches taken out from the hammer toe (the bunion stitches were self-dissolving so they were still there) with more tape added to the hammer toe incision and a fiberglass cast put on. The pin in the hammer toe was left in for 4 more weeks. (I hadn’t taken any pain medicine prior to this visit since the night before but should have as it was a little painful having the stitches removed.)

On March 13, 2018 (4 weeks & 4 days after surgery)  Much to my relief I had the fiberglass cast removed, x-rays taken while lying on a table and the pin removed from the hammer toe! Getting the stitches taken out hurt more than getting the pin taken out,  believe it or not.  I did feel some discomfort when the pin was being pulled past the knuckle area but not for long (on a pain scale of 1-10 with 10 being the most painful, my pain was a 2). The tape that was on the bunion incision was left on.  At this time I was given a walking boot (soft cast) and was told that I could walk short distances but should continue using scooter/crutches for long distances. I wore Skechers Shape Ups on my good foot because it’s a taller than the average tennis shoe so it matched the boot’s elevation.  

I didn’t experience nearly as much pain after the cast came off as I did while in the cast. Most of my foot was numb for the  first couple of days and bruised on the sides and bottom and the second toe was especially painful on the bottom and tip and very sensitive to be touched. What I had felt as pain while wearing the cast was the tape they had put over the incisions digging into my skin much of the time. I had been moving my toes around in the cast because it felt like the gauze that was lining the inside of the cast was stuck in between and under my toes on the bottom side of my foot. We discovered the night my cast was removed that it was dried skin ‘chunks’. There was also a surprising amount of dried, flaky skin from below my knee where the cast came up to but was especially worse on my foot and under and around the bends of my toes. The skin on my foot was extremely dry & burning in spots, it felt like it would crack if I could’ve bent my toes enough. I cleaned my foot and toes off with Q-tips (the doctor said to let the hole where the pin was heal for a couple of days before showering) then applied Vaseline to my whole foot and leg where the cast was, which worked wonders. We noticed my calf was skinnier than my other one as the calf muscle was atrophied some. The pain from this surgery wasn’t as bad as the discomfort and aggravation from not being able to bend my ankle or toes or to not be able to scratch an itch.

To help prepare my foot for some stimulation before walking again, while lying in bed on my back I would scoot down toward the tall, flat side of the wedge pillow and gently press the bottom of my foot onto it. This caused some mild pain especially on the bottom of the hammer toe. After a few nights of doing that, while lying in bed on my back with my knee bent up toward the ceiling, I placed my foot flat on the bed & pressed my foot into the bed being careful to keep it steady & flat to get used to some pressure. I also stretched my great toe as often as I could as instructed by the doctor when I had the cast removed.

When taking my first steps, I used crutches to only allow some of my weight on my foot at first...when it hurt I backed off & tried later. I kept my weight on my heal area at first and the pains felt like pins & needles, like sharp tingles similar to what it feels like when my foot has gone to sleep and is getting the feeling back, but sharper. It took me about four days from when they took the cast off and gave me the walking boot to get up the courage to put all my weight on my foot and take steps but the more I did it the faster it seemed to heal. I actually probably tried to do too much! My heal and ankle ached and burned some so I tried to keep my weight evenly distributed across the bottom of my foot. I did have some pain on the top of my foot & toward my toes and had occasions of sharp shocking type pains that only lasted a second or two each time but mainly in the great toe.

I didn’t need to take any pain medication after the cast was removed, however I will say that wearing the walking boot was pretty uncomfortable so I didn’t wear it when I was just sitting or lying around. It doesn’t take much time being up and around on it for it to swell up, turn a purple color and ache somewhat. After about a week of being up and around on it my calf cramped a bit off and on probably because the muscles were being built back up.

On April 3, 2018 (7 weeks & 4 days after surgery) I had another set of standing x-rays without the boot (hadn’t stood without the boot up until this time and to my surprise  I didn’t experience much pain at all when I placed all my weight on my foot) and an exam. My surgeon was surprised I had so much movement in my great toe and said I was ahead of schedule with how well I was healing.  I was told not to use the walking boot anymore and I could use the walking shoe that she gave me at this visit if I felt my ankle needed the support but that my tennis shoes would be fine. (I only used that walking shoe for about half that day and my tennis shoe for a few hours later that day. I just loosened up the strings to adapt for the swelling.)

Praise the Lord, I can walk! Still with a limp because of a stiff ankle but at least I don’t have to wear that boot anymore! By the evening of April 3, I was walking with much less of a limp and even better about a week and a half after that. When I first stepped on my foot without the boot it felt as if the cold, hot, rough, etc. sensations were amplified on surfaces that I stood on.I had told my surgeon that my heal area was quite sore from walking in the boot and she said some plantar faciatis could be setting in but would get better with more movement/stretching.  (The doctor also said she’d scheduled me to have x-rays on my left foot for six months out and would request surgery scheduled for February of 2019 for my left foot.)

I could finally sleep without the wedge pillows at the foot of the bed with the covers touching my foot on Thursday, April 3.

April 16, 2018 (9 weeks & 4 days after surgery) I'm not limping much at all, my second toe is still pretty stiff and a little numb, almost all the feeling is back in my great toe. The top of my foot where the screws are is still a little sore when I put pressure on it with my hand and my ankle and heal get sore when I’ve been up on my feet too long. My whole leg and foot still gets slightly purple and my foot still gets swollen but every day shows some improvement. I can walk bare footed but it gets too sore if I do it for longer than a few minutes. I wear thick rubberized “beach/shower” type sandals/slippers around the house and if I go anywhere I wear Nu-Balance or Skechers tennis shoes. It is difficult rising from a squatted position as my toes are still somewhat stiff. It does seem like as soon as I started walking in the boot the faster it’s been healing.

April 21, 2018  I’m limping less but having more pains in different areas such as my instep and smaller toes. I suppose it could be because of the muscles getting back to normal use as opposed to when I limped more. I still need to rest, elevate and ice as it gets pretty sore, however, not as swollen as it did.

May 5, 2018 I’m having less pains and the swelling has decreased but it still swells if I’m on my foot too much throughout the day.  The only area that gets a little purple now is just the foot and it doesn’t get as dark as it used to.   

On May 15, 2018 I had another set of x-rays and an exam. The doctor said my foot was doing excellent and that we could get the left foot operated on sooner if needed. I opted to wait until the same time next year that I had this foot done.

May 30, 2018 I’m walking without a limp at all except for when I’ve been on my feet too much. I still have some numbness on the right side of my great toe and on the top of my second toe and down into the top of my foot just below my second toe. The incision scars are healing nicely but my toes still don’t bend as well as my other foot. However, the doctor says I’m doing excellent and ahead of schedule as far as how things are healing. I’m wearing sturdy sandals most of the time and have a pair of Superfeet insoles for my tennis shoes.

June 3, 2018 Went swimming and the sensation of the water on my great toe incision area as I was moving my foot against the water felt like my skin was loose and "flapping". It was not painful, just a weird sensation. I'm sure it was just nerves being stimulated.

June 26, 2018 I can now point my foot downward, getting full flexion while pointing toes. As the remaining numbness has been wearing off, there have been some pains here and there which is all still a part of the healing process.

Some concerns I had through this process was about weight gain. I lost weight for the first couple of weeks then gradually only gained about 8 lbs. from the day of surgery until now. I was also somewhat more emotional than I normally am. I was feeling fearful, helpless, uncertain, anxious, exhausted, sad, guilty, and burdensome, however, I just reminded myself that this is only temporary and there are people that are in way worse condition than I am in. Also, having to consider where we were able to go as far as needing to maneuver the scooter around or where to park the car when we needed to go out, etc. has made me more appreciative of the struggles of the handicapped than I was prior to surgery.

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