Pain after K Pin Removal in toe
Posted , 8 users are following.
Hello,
First off, thank you for reading my story it's a bit long and my concern is listed towards the end but felt having the full story would be beneficial
I am on my third foot surgery that all started from a broken sesamoid 10 years ago, the initial surgery was due to the sesamoid being broke and not healing, they removed half of it and 10 years later I had significant pain in my big toe. Long story short that broken half had started to deteriorate over years and small pieces had lodged in the joint of my big toe. I had no cartridge left so they put a plate in and removed the remaining fragments of the half of sesamoid leaving the 2nd sesamoid.
Fast forward 6 month post op: severe pain on inside of foot, still could not bare alot of weight and was using the side my foot to walk thru the pain. By the time 12 weeks had passed I could barely walk due to the pain from the plates and screws and whatever was on that side toward bottom of big toe along with ow having increased pain on other side from walking incorrectly.
I had my 3rd surgery i am now 3.5 weeks post op. This surgery was way more than expected. The 2nd sesamoid had moved and adhered to the lower side of my foot hence not being able to walk on it, the other side had a stress fracture and also caused a bunion to form and hammertoe in my baby toe. A few days post op the fiberglass cast was unbearable and this is when I first saw my foot, I was horrified, I now had 3 incisions: one over top where they did the last surgery and to remove plates and screws, 2nd was on inside of my foot as Dr couldn't get to the sesamoid well enough from initial incision and 3rd from my pinky toe down side of foot and the big shock was the pin coming out of that toe (as if the 3 incisions and approx. 45 stitches wasnt scary enough). I have progressed pain wise, cam bare some weight in my surgical shoe and what I felt was progress, although still in pain but nothing like the first few days or even few weeks. I was making progress, the foot aside from incisions and pins actually looked pretty good if that's possible.
Now, to my K pin removal, I've seen many ask does it hurt to have it removed? No, it's a very odd feeling to say the least, yes you do feel it. They started by twisting it and simply talked me through. Of course made a little jump as they did the final pull but I would say it wasn't more than a bad spasm.
My question and issue to all of you is this: I had discomfort when I left as the day went on that increased. Through the night it started to feel as if something was tied around my toe and shooting pain down area of my foot where pin was, I woke this morning in tears and have emailed the drs. Has anyone experienced this pain after the removal not during but once you are home? I am now barely walking due to this and back to watching a clock to take a pain med which I was barely taking any more.
Thank you for reading all or my story and please any advice would be greatly appreciated.
0 likes, 14 replies
Guest hjentz31
Posted
Hello. I had my k wires removed today after 2 surgeries (first one failed at a general hospital so i went to a private one and the surgeon put 2 k wires in one foot and 1 in the other) My right foot had 2 pins at 9cm lenght and didnt hurt AT ALL but my left foot had a 20cm pin and hurt a lot because it wouldnt come out. (It's been 6 weeks since the second surgery).
Now it's the next day and my feet still hurt after the removal. I feel pain in the bone is that normal???? I'm so scared that the bones are gonna somehow move... Did the pain eventually stop?? Did you get a reply from your doctor? Hope you are doing good and everything worked out fine
I really hope everything will heal perfectly because i've been beddriden for 3 months now..
Guest
Posted
my k wires were removed yesterday sorry
hjentz31 Guest
Posted
Oh goodness, I hope the pain lets up soon for you. I did get a response and mine was not good. My pin was removed because it had started to come loose however, my pain ended up being for 2 reasons that are not common issues. 1.) an infection had set in, i suggest anyone truly look at color of area around pin (discoloration is normal) yellow scarring, extreme swelling, ect. 2.) due to the pin being removed it did cause my bone to move. I ended up back in a full cast to help the fracture heal for 3 more weeks. I am now in my walking boot and return next week. Im making progress but this has been a rough road.
My suggestion to anyone that has severe pain after removal is to call right away, do your research and ask alot of questions. Discomfort is normal, pain is not. I still have swelling in that toe and that is expected the pain was not.
Hope this helps, I could go on for days with the do's and dont's of this.
Guest hjentz31
Posted
Oh God i hope you get better soon.. !! I thought I had it bad having 2 surgeries in a month!!
The pain is gone now, I do feel discomfort and when I stand with the walking boots my left foot kind of hurts (the pin that was removed went up to my ankle so I think it's normal..) I do feel some pain at time but it goes away after 2 seconds. There are no signs of infection or swelling at all, I just hope nothing moves again since that's the reason I had the second surgery with k wires 😕 If I still feel some pain i'll call my doctor on Monday and see if it's normal, although he did say that I will feel pain when I start walking.
I never thought this would be so hard you know? Hopefully i'll never need another bunion surgery in my life. I just want it to be over! May ask how old you are? I'm 26 (it was urgent to do both feet because my bunions were REALLY bad after years of ballet and wearing pointe shoes) and my doc says I heal faster because I'm young. He said there is no fear that my bones will move now that the pins are removed but I'm still a little worried..
hjentz31 Guest
Posted
Trust me if I could do this all over again I would seriously reconsider them ever touching my foot. Its been 6 months of non stop pain and surgeries. All because I broke a sesamoid 10 years ago. That bone they removed half of it and I did ansolutley fine until last summer when the joint pain started in my big toe. I truly thought I would end up with a corisone injection and be sent home. Instead I had the first surgery to fuse the joint with a plate and that failed horribly. Now I have basically had both side of my foot reconstructed and still have same pain on side of foot that I had prior to the 2nd surgery. UGH!!!! I go back this week and I would not want to be my doctor when he hears what I have to say. I am now 46 and Ill never wear heels again or walk correctly. My sesamoid broke from years of playing sports and heels.
i hope you heal up soon. 😃
Guest hjentz31
Posted
That sounds so incredibly exhausting, I really hope you'll heal with no pain in the end!! I'm scared to start walking again, I feel like I won't be able to walk normally and i'll def need physiotherapy 😦
Heels are so bad for our feet!! I'll probably never dance in pointe shoes again but that's the least of my problems. The first doctor who operated on my feet neglected to x-ray me up until 6 weeks had passed and of course BOTH bones in bOTH feet had moved!!! I was so upset because I asked him to x-ray me 15 days post surgery and he said I didn't need to... Imagine my shock when he called and said i needed to check in the following day for emergency surgery....I told him no and went to a private clinic and thank god my doctor now is very attentive and thorough.
Have you used any cream for scar healing? My scar is a little raised and pink and it feels sore when I touch it..
hjentz31 Guest
Posted
I used gel scar strips called Scar Away and they do help some but I also made sure the rest of my foot was covered in a cream as well to keep the skin around it from drying and pulling more. I used both Aquaphor and Neosporin. I would put the Scar strip on and Aquaphor on my entire foot and put a sock on. After the incision were healed more i would put the neoaporin over the incisions (I had 3 incisions and 47 stitches so this was a daily task usually 2 to 3 times a day to keep it hydrated). Unfortunately, I am stuck with what I now call my Frankenfoot it looks like Frankestein 😃 I have to find humor in this some way. ,Keep going, take it slow, it takes time. Walking helps with the swelling but is never easy at first. I also found my Nike slip on sandals (adidas sells them as well but arent as cushiony) work great for me for around the house and not having to be in my boot constantly.
Hang in there.
Ms.k hjentz31
Edited
Hello, Wow I had my pin removed yesterday from my bunion surgery and boy that pain is unbearable I cant examplain
maria34449 hjentz31
Posted
so sorry must be to have some much pain i hope you have a good team if doctors are you recovering from this last surgery
louise57582 hjentz31
Posted
i had surgery on my right foot, Bunionectomy and 2nd & 3rd toes corrected and now have pins sticking out of them! i get the pins removed in 12 days which will be 6 weeks post surgery!
I am very scared about the pin removal, like will it hurt and also will my toes hurt after the removal
My foot and toes are very swollen and if i try to move or bend them it feels like a barrier stopping them moving especially my big toe!
The Dr has said i can only walk on my heel so that's fun ( not) At this stage i cant even imagine putting weight on my foot properly! My back and hips feel out of whack, stiff and sore from wearing the shoe but also sitting around so much!
Good luck to you all with your own healing , i hope there is no complications! Be kind to yourselves whilst healing
mila926 hjentz31
Edited
I had a lapiplasty and toe fusion/pins to fix four hammer toes. I was doing really well with recovery, until I had my pins removed yesterday. The pin removal was very painful, a lot of twisting and tugging to get them out, and my toes were incredibly sore to just get band aids on. Yesterday evening I was in so much pain that I had to take a leftover Oxycodone pill. Today, I feel like I did about 6 days post-surgery, just a lot of pain and walking really hurts . I am hoping that it gets better because I am really over it, and cannot imagine how I am supposed to start wearing a sneaker next week given the pain that I have today. Foot surgery is rough, and I don't feel that docs real set expectations well.
shirley01075 hjentz31
Posted
i had pins removed from mu second toe today after a fusion of my metacarsal, buionectomy and toe straightened I have had my foot elevated 7 weeks and coped quite well with the pain until now The removal of the pins was ok, but almost immediately after and 6 hours since I am in agony with that toe! I am taking codeine phosphate and diclofenac which is not touching it I'm afraid to even try and stand to go to the bathroom. I have called out of hours who told me to call my GP tomorrow I only can hope this will subside aoon
bd23984 shirley01075
Posted
Hi, I just came across your response about pain after pin removal. Mine came out yesterday and I have terrible pain. I have leftover oxycodone from my surgery but it's not helping much. Do you recall how long it took for the pain to subside? I've had other foot surgeries with pins but never had pain after removal.
bd23984 hjentz31
Posted
Hi, I had pins removed yesterday and am experiencing the same discomfort you felt, the tightening around the toe and the shooting over the pin site. I did have tape around my toe that I removed in the evening and I was definitely on my feet for too long yesterday and had swelling. I have oxycodone leftover from my surgery but it's not helping me much. Do you recall how long it took for the pain to subside? I've had other foot surgeries with pins but never had pain after removal.