Bunionectomy Post-Op Appointment - 9 weeks!

I had my final post-op appointment with my surgeon today! He was very positive and happy with the way my feet are healing and even congratulated me on my progress... He told me that in another three weeks I should see a dramatic difference in the way my feet both look and feel especially in regard to swelling. He advised that I wait until then (the 12 week mark) to start buying "proper" new shoes... he also said that I should be good to get back en pointe at ballet class!

Not surprisingly (at least to me), I am exhausted from all the walking I have done today. I've been awake since 4:30am, caught two planes, travelled over 1200 kilometers, spent at least two hours pounding the pavement and done a 90 minute jazz class! I have a feeling I will be waking to some very swollen feet and some incredibly tight calves :p

Shoes!?

I am now in post-op week 6! The last couple have weeks have gone by quite quickly, presumably because I have been back at work half-days. As most of the scabs have fallen off my feet and my scar is looking somewhat healthier I decided to buy some new shoes. Being limited to wearing my sneakers, my feet were hot and bothered by the end of the day. I did a bit of trawling on the interwebs, and after some research located all the stores in my city that are stockists of the old-people comfy shoes eg. Hush Puppies, Diana Ferrari and Homyped.
After dragging my sorry feet around town to shoe store after shoe store, I soon realised there was little chance I was going to find a pair of shoes that I could squeeze my swollen feet into and at the same time want to wear out in public. I succumbed to the fact that my only real option was probably going to be a new pair of Crocs and started the mission to walk up to the main suppliers in town. After half a block I was limping on one leg and dragging the other foot on the pavement. By chance I decided to take a breather by stopping at a bushwalking shop and to my delight they had a nice selection of walking shoes and sandals. I was so exhausted from the shopping trip from hell that I bought the first pair of shoes that I could get my feet into! They looked like sneakers, had stretchy straps, were waterproof, well ventilated and had a toe protector! The shop assistant took pity on me and gave me a 10% discount! I was ecstatic! I had accomplished my impossible mission of finding shoes that could make my feet look normal! I was so in love with my shoes I wore them all afternoon while I recovered in bed!!!



Two days later I ended up back in town to buy a pair of Crocs because they're so much easier to slip on and off in a hurry...

Calf Atrophy

Before my surgery I had the good sense to measure the width of my calf muscles... 40cm each! I have always had pretty solid legs, and dancing - especially ballet - has only seemed to make them bigger.

Within the first 2-3 days of my surgery it appeared that my legs were shrinking due to lack of movement, so I measured in again... 37cm! In THREE days! By the end of the first week my calf muscles were only 36cm each. I'm not complaining, because truthfully I've always longed for leaner looking legs!!! By the end of week two each calf muscle measured only 35cm, and now at week four they are 34.5cm.

Of all the forums I've read, I haven't stumbled across anyone that has noted any calf atrophy. Most people are too concerned with the pain, swelling or pins they have poking out of their feet. Now I'm left pondering if my muscles will grow back to their post surgery thickness, or if they are gone forever???

Bye Bye Stitches!!!

My stitches are out! Yay! It was a strange sensation... Like a really thick deep ingrown hair being pulled out from underneath the skin.

Most of the wounds have healed, with the exception of the top of the incision on the inside of my left big toe. My doctor used a butterfly stitch to bring the skin back together, so one more week of bandages which means I STILL can't get my feet wet!!!

So I'm back to sitting in the bath with my feet hanging out over the edge, and wiping my feet down with clean cotton balls and warm water before my daily physio and massage session. The physio seems to be going well. I'm bending the big toes as far backwards and forwards as I can for around 3 minutes each and then stretching the remaining toes out for 1 minute. I then massage the swelling up my feet using sorbeline cream and finish my treatment off with ice-packs wrapped around my feet and secured with a rubber band. It feels fantastic to take my bandages off for twenty minutes and feel the fresh air on my beautiful new toes :)

The Walking Wounded

As I sat outside on my balcony this morning diligently wiggling my big swollen toes back and forth I became aware of how stiff my toes were even though I wasn't in any pain. I have had a serious case of cabin fever for the past week, and the weather has great so I came to the conclusion that if the physiotherapist decided no more crutches, then I should be ready to try walking further than the distance of my bedroom to the bathroom... and it might even help stretch out my feet and toes to a larger degree.

Although my husband was dubius, he agreed to help me walk the dogs to the park at the end of our street. While he got the dogs organised I slipped on my ugly new crocs and then we set off on a mission to the park.

I couldn't keep up with the dogs or my husband, so they walked ahead and I hobbled the 300m up the street to the park.

When we got to the park the dogs were thankful and so was I. Perched on the park bench I relaxed and watched the dogs have a run. It felt fantastic to be out of the house. Ten minutes later I felt like I had recovered enough to make the journey home.

As soon as I walked in the door I got back into bed, elevated my feet and wrapped the ice packs around my feet. Although the park is so close to my house, it's the furthest I've walked in nearly three weeks! It's a big milestone in my recovery, and I now feel much more content but incredibly tired.

Bunion Surgery and the 2 Weeks After

So I googled for a surgeon with a great reputation, and after reading some forums I stumbled across an orthopaedic surgeon who specialises in foot and ankle procedures, and has had extensive experience working with professional athletes and dancers. I made an initial appointment to consult with the surgeon about my feet and he agreed to perform a bilateral Scarf/Akin osteotomy.

The operation was performed through two incisions. One of the tight ligaments on the opposite side of the bunion was released. Then the bunion was shaved. Following this the metatarsal bone was cut and adjusted to narrow the foot and realign the joint. A small screw was placed in the bone to provide fixation. A fine wedge of bone was then removed from the bone to straighten the toe and a small staple wasused to hold the bone in place.



When I first woke up from surgery I had no pain at all due to a sciatic nerve block that had been administered behind the knee. I was moved to my hospital bed and the dead weight of my legs was elevated. The feeling in my feet began to return around 12 hours later. It was a gradual return in sensation; tingling, like pins and needles. The nurses at the hospital advised that I start taking the pain medication straight away to avoid experiencing any severe pain. I was alternating taking two Digesic tablets and two Ibuprofen tables every two hours. There was a small amount of bleeding after a trip to the bathroom so my bandages were changed on the first day post op. I stayed at the hospital for two nights, and by the time I was checked out I was able to walk small distances on the heels of my feet, using crutches for support.

For the first three nights out of hospital I stayed planted to the sofa bed, only moving to go to the bathroom. My mother and husband were on food and drink duty! There was no way that I could have prepared any meals for myself, or even carried any drinks while supporting myself on crutches. Luckily for me I had seasons 1 and 2 of Dexter on DVD and although I had never seen an episode I managed to get through 24 hours of Dexter within one weekend.

On day five after surgery I had my first post-op appointment with the surgeon. He was very happy with my progress and said he could tell I had been a good girl, doing absolutely nothing. The clinic's nurse redressed my wounds and they booked me in for an eight week post-op review.



The next ten days were spent doing much of the same... Absolutely nothing. There are only so many tv box sets and movies a person can watch during one day. My daily activity increased to having a bath (feet still elevated, protected by plastic bags), going to the toilet and surfing the internet... Thank god for the internet!!!

The Dreaded Hallux Valgus

I have had bunions ever since I can remember. My feet have always been slender in the middle, with big wide nasty bumps on the big toe joint. My right foot has always had a larger bump with my big toe pushing inwards toward the other toes. The left foot is the one that aches... when I'm walking and when I'm sleeping.

For years I have struggled with buying shoes that fit. I have always opted for sneakers and boots that were wide but trendy, justifying my choices by telling my friends that I just like to wear practical foot wear. This made formal formal events a nightmare. Trying to hunt down the perfect pair of heels with a strap wide enough to accomodate my feet, yet soft enough to not dig into my bunions and also try to keep my nasty looking tootsies hidden from my friends... Maybe if no-one else could see them, then maybe they didn't exist.

I hated going places that I would be required to take my shoes off and reveal my hidden ugliness. The beach, the pool, dance class... I even dreaded going to the good old "No Shoe House", where I would always leave my socks on, just in case someone caught a peek of my hideous feet.

After I lost one of my faithful orthodics my podiatrist decided that my feet had suffered beyond help. All the years of dancing in unsupportive shoes and training for martial arts in bare feet had pushed my bunions over the edge. I asked about bunion surgery but my podiatrist advised against it. "It's too painful", he said. Too many of his patients had regretted the surgery, with some have experiencing more pain than before, and long recovery times. His solution for the situation... quit dancing.

So here I was left with a choice; quit dancing or pursue surgery against specialist advise. Life without dancing was not a valid option. So surgery it was. The prodiatrist advised that I search for the best surgeon in Australia. So I did.