i am advised i may need fixation of great toe joint to relieve the pain of bunions. i have previously had pain relieving injections but the surgeon will only give this once yearly.
has anyone else had this surgery? how much physical mobility does the fixation allow afterwards - garden, walk, cycle - and what are the limitations?
There are different surgical procedures for bunions.
I had a procedure called a Scarfe Osteotomy on both feet ( done separately at about 6 month intervals) about 12 years ago…both very successful…not much pain post surgery…then no pain at all ever after.
I can walk fine - only limited by OP in my spine..but feet don’t hurt at all…can’t wear high heels..but couldn’t before the surgery!
But do find out which procedure you will be having, however these days you don’t often hear of the painful after effects one used to hear.
I had my left foot straightened about 4 years ago and toes straightened, a lump off the side of my foot it was great. Along with toes being straightened too. A few weeks in plaster and a few in a boot and then great feet, no pain and normal shoes and the only scar is down the inside with a lot of small dots that can be seen with a microscope along toes. Worth it ? yes best thing I've ever had done. By NHS at Medway Maritime Hospital. Almost no pain when it was done and certainly paracetamol sorted that out. My foot flexes normally and my left foot now matches my right.
It depends on what you mean by 'fixation'. There are several different procedures they can use. As Aged Crone says one is a scarf osteotomy, there are also other kinds like the chevron or akin osteotomy. Sometimes they just shave off the boney growths. At the other end of the scale they can either fuse the joint completely, in which case your big toe won't bend, or they can put in a silastic implant so that the two bones are kept apart and can still move.
I have had three recent surgeries on my bunions, and two when I was a teenager (nearly 50 years ago). For the most recently ones, after each foot being done with osteotomies one foot still had problems. The surgeon said normally at this point they would fuse the joint. I argued for a silastic implant on the basis that if they fuse the joint you can't go on tip toes so well anymore. I pointed out that as a short women, not a 6 foot tall surgeon, it was really important that I could still bend my toe and go on tippy toes in order to reach the shelves and other design features in houses that are generally designed by tall men who have no idea how difficult life is if you aren't 6 foot tall!
They agreed to an implant!
As for recovery time, it will depend on your own health, but generally two weeks to a month with crutches, then with the special boot for another few weeks. Recovery from a fusion takes longer.
The reason why recovery and mobility is so much better now than when I was a teen is because they use more hardware to keep the bones together while they heal than they used to.
I am two weeks post op bilateral big toe fusion surgery - hopefully stitches out on Thursday. Decided to go for both feet being done at same time instead of one at a time. It was a day surgery with general anaesthetic, pain gone by post op day 2. You have to try and keep off your feet as much as possible to keep feet swelling to a minimum as this contributes to more pain. You can mobilise for toilet, cups of tea, food prep, etc as you will be given huge surgical sandals that make you walk on your heels. I believe you wear these for another 4 weeks (6 in total) to mobilise but will check this out when stitches come out. I will not be able to wear high heels anymore or go up on tip toes, but walking, running and most types of exercise can be undertaken after recovery period. Exception is some yoga poses that require you to be up on your toes but I am sure that some careful adaptations can be made.
As others have said, it depends on what type of surgical procedure is being proposed as to what will be good for you. My bunions were so bad (big toes were at almost 45 degrees) that toe fusion was better option as less risk of bunions returning after surgery. Do your research about different procedures and prepare some written questions for meeting with surgeon.
hi, I had a bunion removed and big toe fusion. Went from terrible pain to none. The only thing I can’t do is wear heels but RA put a stop to that anyway! Good luck with it, it’ll be worth it.
Joint Steroid Injection 
Hypermobility of joints
Is it possible to have RA with no joint swelling or joint pain?
