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Screw removal?

Posted , 4 users are following.

msruby
msruby

Hi All,

It’s been three weeks since my surgery on my right foot. I had a McBride Bunionectomy and a Lapidus Fusion. There are two parallel screw along my TMT joint at the midfoot and one in my big toe bone where a wedge of bone was removed. I’m recovering well, although I occasionally  get little electric shocks or dull throbbing at the screw sites (usually at night). Is this normal?

Also, when they took X-rays at my two week mark, I noticed the screws were very close to the surface of my foot. I have skinny feet, so there seems to be only a thin layer of skin above the screw heads. I asked the doctor if they may bother me  when wearing closed shoes and need to be taken out in the future. He stated he has only taken the hardware out once in all his foot surgeries in the past fifteen years. Then he looked at my skinny feet, seemed to reconsider, and said if they do bother me, they can be taken out.

Have many of you had the screws taken out at a later time or kept them in successfully? I can’t imagine going under the knife again, especially when I still have my left foot surgery to go through!

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • lovelynancie
    lovelynancie msruby

    Posted

    I just had a similar surgery 9/5. I trust my surgeon. He told me in all his years he's never had anyone complain about screws. He said less than 30 % of most surgeries. I'm in a non Wright bearing cast & see him Tue first post ok visit. The cast has to come off it is extremely difficult & my foot throbs. I wish you well & I wouldn't sweat small stuff. Healing w/o complications is most important.

    • lovelynancie
      lovelynancie

      Posted

      My spell check fixed words w/o my permission. Non weight bearing cast. Post op.
    • msruby
      msruby lovelynancie

      Posted

      Thank you for your response. Yes, you are so right! Healing without complications is the goal. I had my post op on Tuesday and had the plaster cast and stitches taken out. It was like night and day. I now have a fiberglass cast for another four weeks, but it is much lighter and the stitches are no longer pulling my skin. I do get those sporadic little shocks, but I think it’s the nerves healing.

      I wish you a good post op visit and a quick painless recovery.

  • loraine66016
    loraine66016 msruby

    Posted

    I had a Lapidus on Wednesday ...he put in 6 screws, plate and bone graft. I don’t have a cast, but non weightbearing in a shoe for 6 weeks. My post op appointment is in 2 weeks.

    i am having very intesnse pain when I put my foot Dow and through the night.. I had a joint replacement in my other foot at end of March and that still gives a bit of pain , but not like this! I have been very nauseous with strong  pain relief... 

    did anyone else have intense pain?

     

    • msruby
      msruby loraine66016

      Posted

      Hi loraine66016,

      My goodness, you had a lot done, much more than me. I think it would be normal this early on to be feeling that type of pain. However, I am surprised they didn’t put you in a cast for better immobilization. Every doctor is different though.

      I was very nauseous from the OxyContin the doctor prescribed and even with anti nausea meds, I couldn’t keep it down.  After the first day, they switched to Norco and it worked a bit better. It’s only been four days since your surgery and I’ve heard the pain peaks around the third day. It was worst for me then too, but gradually got better.

      I hope it subsided and please feel free to reach out to me if you want to share. On a bright note, my foot doesn’t hurt anymore and I am able to go out and work out (on one leg) three weeks out. Hopefully that will be the case for you. And if you don’t have one yet, the knee scooter is a life saver! Xoxo

  • diana62432
    diana62432 msruby

    Posted

    I had disolving screws
    • lovelynancie
      lovelynancie diana62432

      Posted

      Wow I Wish I knew that ahead.of time. My big toe was out of socket. It was like my toe was broken. My surgeon had to give me new socket, hence the surgery. I'm seeing him this Tuesday, it can't come soon enough. Thanks for thinking of me. Nancie

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