Toes Foot Surgery or Not

beachlady2

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Hi everyone, I'm 75 years old and have struggled with painful feet for many years with hammertoes, bunions, and now with dropped metatarsal pads and neuromas. I'm afraid my compensating for the pain is beginning to aggravate my right bone-on-bone knee (I had a TKR in 2013 on the left.)

I'd really appreciate hearing from the "more mature" members of the forum regarding their views on foot surgery at an advanced age. I hated my recovery with my TKR -- and I'm a strong woman. Surgery went well , but I don't do well with opioids; I had a hard time trying to stay in front of the pain and I bought into the "start right away" PT. I never recovered my balance or ability to walk properly after the TKR.

I live alone, and will get help for a few hours during the day, but I'm getting anxious at the thought of dealing with the pain and icing by myself. I'd love to be able to spend the last phase of my life relatively "pain free" in my feet, but not sure if that will happen.

Would appreciate anyone's thoughts .
 
@beachlady2,
Welcome to BoneSmart! Glad you joined us!

Sorry to hear about your foot pain and complaining right knee. Tough choice, neither one is going to get better and may get worse. Have you been given other options?

Keep us posted on how you are doing.
 
regarding their views on foot surgery at an advanced age.
After being in OR for most of my life, I can assure you that most patients fall into the 'advanced age' category. But I can tell you that things like hammertoes, bunions and neuromas don't get better on their own. They HAVE to have surgery.

As for pain killers, there are many alternatives so you shouldn't have to have a hard time with any of them
 
To beachlady2 -Hi, not sure if my advice is of any help, but hopefully it may be of some comfort.
Last year at 63yrs of age, I had both feet operated on within six months.
The surgeon operated on eight toes overall (not the big toes). The arthritic bone was removed from each toe and the tendons cut.
The operations were a complete success and I can now walk without pain in my feet. Prior to the ops, every toe was curled over with OA and I was unable to straighten them.
I would definitely recommend foot surgery if appropriate, to relieve any pain and discomfort now and in the future.
If you want any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Regards
Paul x
 
Thank you, Paul. sorry I didn't respond sooner-- I didn't know you had replied. May I send you a PM with questions about your recovery?
 
If you want any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sounds like it is OK for you to PM Paul.
Please continue share here so others may benefit from your experience.
 
To all,

It's been 4 months since my last posting; sorry for the delay. Since I haven't been able to sleep much since my foot surgery, I thought I'd do an update.

After debating whether or not to do surgery on my right foot, the pain from hammertoes and morton's neuromas (compressed nerves) on my right foot really intensified and convinced me that surgery was needed. Took a while to find a surgeon with the qualifications and reputation that I wanted-- and found him in Tampa, an hour away from Sarasota. Could have been worse.

Surgery was performed June 14th and I went home with a 5 lb boot up to my calf, and pins sticking out of my toes. The pins are essential to straightening the toes so I was advised to be really careful and keep them in place. Easier said than done-- one pin snapped off when I fell asleep without the boot, , and one was close to snapping. . As with any surgery, there have been bumps along the way -- 2 more trips to Tampa to change dressings and to secure remaining pins , 2 changes of footwear so I could venture outside, etc.. Having seen the foot without covering-- I wonder if it will ever look remotely normal.

I took Oxy for about 5 days and was able to manage the constipation. Then went to Aleve/ibuprofen -- big improvement over the TKR 5 yrs ago. Biggest problem is intermittent nerve flare-ups that can make me gasp, and dull but persistent throbbing that makes sleep difficult.

Unlike TKR -- where you have instant relief from excruciating pain as soon as you put weight on the new knee, I seem to have exchanged one type of foot pain for another-- along with 4 weeks of inactivity and staying indoors . Hope it's worth it.

My stitches and pins are scheduled to be removed July 10th . I'll post again after the great unveiling. I admit I'm apprehensive.

Beachlady2
 
Hi everyone,
Stitches and pins are out of the three hammertoe/ neuroma toes that were operated on. Dr should have arranged to have stitches removed sooner since they became embedded in swollen foot. Have to admit I cried as they poked around to remove stitches. And i gagged at sight of my raw swollen toes and top of foot — really gross. Due to severity of hammertoes, more cutting and stitches were needed
Trying to stay positive-despite still having aches and nerve pain. ChefClay, how long beforetoe swelling subsided?
 

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