Foot arthroplasty

[Cherryblossom12]

Thank you all who replied to my post re foot surgery. I am still confused over what the consultant means by floppy toes and how that feels etc. any further advice be most welcome! It’s a big irreversible decision!

[AgedCrone]

GoogleFoot &AnkleJournal Online. - faoj.org ….Look for Floppy ToeDoesn’t sound very nice I’m afraid .

[medway-lady]

Sorry no idea my toes are normal after my toe surgery. Look and feel the same just a bit shorter but even I can't actually see the difference. I know he tightened the ligaments and had spikes out for a few weeks and I have a fair number of dot scars but to be honest I doubt anyone else can see them as in the crease lines.

[Fruitandnutcase]

I wish all consultants would be more exact about what the possible outcomes of their proposed treatments and drugs might be. They do like to treat ‘their’ body part in isolation.I’m really sorry to hear what’s happened though, apart from the pain involved it’s horrible to have had all that done and not had the outcome you were hoping for.

[Briefencounter in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

I have hammer toes on each foot . Although my feet are often painful , due to RA , my toes are OK . My hands , however, look pretty awful with enlarged bony knuckles and marked ulnar drift . However , they are not really painful but the fingers often "lock" - especially the thumbs and they have to be forced open - often in hot water to assist .The surgeon , who did an excellent job in replacing my elbow , is very keen to operate on my hands . The only problem is I contracted an infection during the elbow operation ( other ops on TKR and ankle have been fine ) and had to have the elbow opened up again , "washed out" , an intravenous antibiotic infusion and I'm now on a lifetime's course of a daily antibiotic. So I'm a little wary .

My surgeon is of the "tell it as it is" school , so when I ask him if the operation on my hands is likely to be successful, he grins and says , "Well they will either be very much better or very much worse ". 😉 I'm still thinking about it.

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to Briefencounter]

Oh heck! What a choice for you to have to make. How on earth do you decide. Your hands are so important - you have to decide if you can live with things as they are possibly getting progressively worse or if you have them operated on and have problems straight away. On the other hand if you are taking daily antibiotics they might nip any future infections in the bud. Glad it’s not my choice though.