Forefoot reconstruction

[bighair]

I have RA and been told I would benefit from a forefoot reconstruction to fuse my big toe and realign the rest of my toes. I get a lot of pain and discomfort in my foot and shoes are a nightmare, even wide fitting shoes cause me grief. Has anyone any experience of this surgery?

[bassiefromholland]

Hi Bighair,

I have had foot surgery in my middle foot. I had a sagging foot. I had to wear plaster for 4 month but I am very happy with the result! My other foot has to be done next year, I have also new joints in my right hand, and that was also succesfull , so I wish you all the best and I am sure it will help you, and more important less pain!

Succes with the surgery!

XxxBas

[carotopgal]

All I can say is to hope you get a really good surgeon. I had a really unscrupulous podiatrist convince me some years ago that I had horrible bunions and needed to have both feet operated on. He did one foot and I never went back to have the second one done. After being in a cast for 2 months and could put no weight whatsoever on that foot, it was discovered that he set the foot wrong and my great toe sticks up in the air a bit. It causes my gait to be horribly off and it hurts to walk without shoes on now which is the greatest pain of all because I used to love to go barefoot all the time. I went to a real foot surgeon after the fact and he agreed it was a botched job. He also said that I never should have had the surgery in the first place because my feet weren't that bad. But the only thing he could do would be to go in take everything (hardware) out and re-break the foot and start over. I had just started a new job and couldn't be off work again, so I never had it fixed. But don't let my experience turn you off. My cousin has RA and she had both her feet operated on and it was wonderful for her. It really made a difference. I wish you luck and hope it all works out great for you.

[nomoreheels in reply to carotopgal]

How awful for you carotopgal. Possibly a job for the boys?! I'm right in remembering you're in the US? Here in the UK the NHS/Health Authority in our area is such that only if an operation is urgent or would benefit the patient does it go ahead. Possibly would have saved you the disastrous op you had if you had lived here! Seriously though I really hope you can have it reset some time soon, that's a dreadful experience for you. Envious of you though being able to walk barefoot pre op but do hope you'll be able to do it again. x

[flow4]

I agree with carotopgal - get a good surgeon, and possibly at least 2 opinions. Foot surgery is complex and not as successful as other surgery on more simple joints... I saw a surgical podiatrist and an orthopaedic foot surgeon last year. They agreed that to sort out my feet, I need 4 procedures on each: straightening my big toe by removing a triangle of bone; fusing my big toe; straightening toes 2 and 3; and fusing my mid-foot. All procedures need to be done together, because the bones in my feet are hypermobile, so if they straighten without fusing, they will simply move again... However, the surgical podiatrist said it was all too complex for him, and the OS said it only had a 50/50 chance of success, with significant risks including amputation if things went wrong. So I said 'no thanks'. My feet hurt, and I'm limited in how far I can walk, but that still seems better than risking the surgery.

[joan_w]

I haven't had major foot surgery, only most of my toes straightened, but I do know that foot surgery is a specialist operation. Be sure to get an experienced foot surgeon to do the op, not just a general orthopaedic surgeon.

[Tinwoman2]

Hi bighair, I had this done on my right foot. I have no pain in my 4 smaller toes now, which is great! (They are not attached by bone anymore, just by cartilage/muscle.) But, my fused big toe didn't turn out as good; the joint that was bad is now good but then the RA moved into the next toe joint. So my big toe is misshapen & permanently swollen & more painful than it was before (being bone-on-bone).

Still, I'm glad that I had it done because every step before my surgery was agony and now I can walk with almost no pain. I do have to wear big-toe shoes now, but that's ok with me-they are more comfortable anyway.

My big toe result was not foreseen, and not everyone will have the same result as I did.

I still walk a lot and live my life much better since I had the surgery.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Christine