Toe Surgery

[Cherryblossom12]

Hi just wondering if anyone has had forefoot arthroplasty or now called Stainsbie procedure. I saw my foot surgeon yesterday and that is what he recommended for my twisted toes. I didn’t like the fact that you end up with floppy toes! How does that feel and does it affect your walking??in good walking shoes I can walk short distances although I have two knee replacements and one hip but I don’t want to be worse off. I have had metatarsal fractures repaired and dislocations repaired. Five ops in all and I’m not going into this lightly. I do have corns rubbing thick callouses and have tried all toe separators etc etc in fact a shoebox full.

Any help or advice would be welcome!

[sylvi]

I had my toes broken to straighten them as they were hammer toed. I think in my case it seems to have been a waste of time as they are turning again. Give it a lot of thought before you go for it and get some ideas from others who have had your surgery and see how they have recovered darling. xxxx

[Ailsa-NRAS Partner NRAS in reply to sylvi]

Hi Sylvi

I've got dislocated toes and have had two middle toes broken and straightened at same time as having ankle replacement or sub taylor fusion. None of my toes bend very much but they aren't uncomfortable. Broke a big toe 2 years ago and that doesn't bend now. I mostly wear trainers/boots. I do get a lot of pain in feet/ankles but not so much in my toes. Not sure if that is helpful ....

[sylvi in reply to Ailsa-NRAS]

They still bend darling but they are going back to what they were before surgery. xxx

[medway-lady]

Mine were all broken and straightened and a bit of bone taken away and a plate put to straighten my foot. Best thing I've ever had done. The RA has only ever affected my left foot and it was so hard to buy shoes not to mention walk. After the op I was in plaster for a few weeks then a boot and after about three months my left foot matched my right and I could walk normally and my foot was straight. It still is some 4 years on and I love shoes and wear heels without any problem. It never hurt as the nerves were removed as I had Neuroma's too and all the scars were either at the side of my foot or looked like pin pricks as they tightened the ligaments as well. I can't say what I think you should do but for me it was great, and it could of course be dependant on how good your surgeon is and how well you heal as well as how much work is needed. Good luck whatever you decide to do.

[Kags1068]

Hi Cherry blossom

Just catching up with posts, so a bit of a late reply. I'm not sure if my experience bears any relation to what's been suggested to you, but here goes.

I've had 3 foot surgeries over the years, and in 1994 when I was 25 I had all the metatarsal heads removed from both feet. They'd kind of dropped down so they looked like big pebbles on the bottom of my feet, and it meant my toes had sort of raised up and didn't touch the ground. The surgeon was worried about the skin breaking down and the feet becoming ulcerated, etc.

I went ahead with the op. From what I remember, the feet were just bandaged for a few weeks afterwards- no plaster. No corks and wires poking out my toes either, which was something I really dreaded. The op actually helped a lot. My feet are still "flatter" in that area all these years later. The toes went down a bit, but never back to normal. That hasn't really been a problem though. My toes haven't yet criss-crossed over one another, so still reasonably straight, although they don't really seem to move independently of each other. Again, that hasn't really been a problem. My feet were extremely painful beforehand, as it felt I was trying to walk on massive, painful pebbles all the time. They were, and still are, much less painful in that area than they were before. I also had lots of calloused skin in that area which improved after the surgery. The main unexpected thing, which probably is obvious when you think that the bones have been removed, is that my feet ended up at least 1 size smaller afterwards. I still get comments now on my "petite" sized feet!

I hope that may be useful to you.

Best wishes X