Anyone have bunion/bunionette surgery?

[Deleted]

I went to the podiatrist today and not only do I have bunionettes like I thought, I have bunions too. I have to go and get Xrays done, and then we will discuss treatment, which will most likely end in surgery from what I have gathered. My mom had surgery on bunions 17 years ago, and I imagine it has changed somewhat since then, but maybe not.  If you have had it done somewhat recently, how much time off should I expect from work? Am I kept in the hospital overnight? I think my mom had it done same-day but I can't quite remember (I was 10 and really didn't pay attention.)

[mcc]

I had bilateral bunionette surgery (still called a bunionectomy) in 2008. I chose to do both at once so that I didn't have to deal with recovery twice. I waited until it was absolutely necessary and I could barely walk, even in flip flops, from the pain. It has been the best decision and I wish I had done it sooner. Bunionette surgery is very different from bunion surgery because it's just a shaving of the bone versus a breaking and resetting (bunion).

My surgery was supposed to be outpatient but due to complications (the surgical site was infected from the bursa/bone rubbing for so long) so I had to stay overnight. My recovery was fairly easy. I was out of the hospital the next day and butt scooted up my stairs. I was pretty out of it on pain meds for a couple of days but by day 3 or 4 I was able to take short walks and get out of the house for lunch.

My doctor sent me home with Cryopacks which are pretty standard these days for a lot of surgeries (they're ice buckets with a wrap that you wrap around your surgical site to "ice it" and reduce swelling). That was great. I think I was walking really well about 2 weeks after surgery. I remember because I met someone on the street about 2 weeks post op and I shuffled up to them because I couldn't run.

Bunion surgery is a whole different animal. I know there are some women on H&F who had it done if you want to XP there.

[Deleted]

Most likely it will be the bunionettes being worked on for now, the bunions aren't very bad at all right now. I have to wear heels at work, though, and my right foot/bunionette is hurting so bad that I am limping by the end of the day sometimes and my little toe/side of my foot are getting really calloused from it.

[Jalapeñomel]

Not me, but a good friend of mine did. She was glad she did it, but they are growing back. And sadly, her insurance didn't cover it (which apparently is pretty common).

[kellykapowski]

I had a bunionectomy 2 years ago on one foot. My surgeon did the chevron procedure and thus I was expected to walk on my foot (in a special shoe) the next day. The pain wasn't completely tolerable with just Advil by day 3. Unfortunately I developed an allergy to benzoin tincture which is the stuff they rubbed in my foot to help the bandages adhere and I had a huge, painful, itchy reaction which didn't allow me to walk all that quickly. Though I'm certain had it not been for that, I would have been walking around decently according to my doctors wishes.

I have

[kellykapowski]

Ugh I'm posting from my phone and clearly I don't know what I'm doing. I meant to say that the pain WAS tolerable by day 3 on just Advil. Sorry! I don't know how to edit.

Anyway, I posted too soon. I have the second foot left to be done but I went ahead and got pregnant instead. I will do it as soon as I can as I think I was the best decision ever.

Good luck!

[mcc]

Apr 2, 2013 20:29:53 GMT -5 @reannalynne said:

Most likely it will be the bunionettes being worked on for now, the bunions aren't very bad at all right now. I have to wear heels at work, though, and my right foot/bunionette is hurting so bad that I am limping by the end of the day sometimes and my little toe/side of my foot are getting really calloused from it.

What do you do that you have to wear heels at work?  Unless you're a Victoria's Secret model, you should be able to wear respectable flats if it's for health reasons.

[justsam]

I have bunions on both feet. I finally saw a podiatrist for the first time last month. I wish I hadn't waited so long. Mine aren't bad enough to need surgery yet, thankfully. But coupled with my flat feet, I was fitted for custom orthotics, which I just got yesterday. And they're already making a huge difference! I was able to wear them all day at work today and had no pain in my right foot! My left is another story, because according to my doc it sounds like the bones shifted a bit, causing the muscles to freak out. But the little bit of pain I had today was nothing compared to last week. I couldn't put any weight on it last week.

Maybe see if orthotics are an option. They won't correct the damahe already done, but they'll prevent any more from occurring.

[hokiegirl82]

I had my first bunion surgery on my left foot last June, and had my second on my right foot this past January 2 (just passed the 3 month recovery mark!) I am 30 years old and have had pretty bad bunions my entire life, but didn't really worry about them until about 3 years ago when they started to hurt. I went to a podiatrist, had the custom orthotics made, had cortisone shots, wore very wide flat shoes, but still had too much daily pain to deal with it anymore so I got a second opinion and decided to go with surgery.

I went with a very aggressive form of bunion surgery to make the chances of the bunion growing back very slim to none. I have a 3 inch incision on each foot, and the doctor cut out a wedge of bone on the bunion in each foot, and I have 3 permanent screws in each foot that helped the bones fuse together. I was in and out of the surgery center for each surgery within about 5 hours, but I was off work each surgery for 4 weeks because I was required to be off my feet completely. The first 5 days after each surgery was the worst - I was in a splint up to my knee each time, but the pain was bearable with percoset. After that I was in a small bandage for another week, and I had a walking moon boot that I had to put on anytime I got up, but I was non-weight bearing for 2 weeks, then only partial weight bearing for the next 2 weeks, so I was on crutches for 4 weeks each time. After 4 weeks I was allowed to go back to work and walk in the moon boot for 2-3 weeks, then sneakers for another 4-5 weeks. I was back in the gym each time after 10 weeks.

People don't seem to believe me when I tell them that it was totally worth it and the recovery really wasn't that bad. As long as you follow the doctors instructions you should be fine - just don't try to walk on it before he tells you to, keep off it, elevated, etc. I was in so much pain every day just walking, and now I can run without pain.

What kind of job do you have where you have to wear heels? If you are in pain, wearing proper flat shoes would help until you have surgery and there are plenty of dressy flats your employer should be ok with.

[pierogigirl]

A friend had bunion surgery and she was out of work for 6-8 weeks (I can't remember) and she had to wear a boot for months after. She was my MOH and wore the boot to my wedding because she still couldn't tolerate real shoes months after the wedding. DH needs the surgery some day and we're trying to plan for the time out of work. He has a physically demanding job so he would have to be able to wear steel-toed boots before he could return. His doctor said his could wait a few years.

[Deleted]

Thanks!

I technically can wear flats but it is frowned upon a lot. Maybe I can get a Dr. Note saying I need to though..

Sent from my totally awesome galaxy s3.