Hi All. I have had R A for 40 years and had numerous replacement joints, fusions etc. I am now awaiting foot surgery to straighten my toes which have drifted and clawed.
Have any of my fellow warriors had this surgery, what can I expect and was it a success?
Thanks in advance.
Yup my left foot, straightened the foot had bones bits removed and plated and matching feet. He also did the incision on side of foot so on top is all can be seen is the tiny tiny dots where they hel the wires on my toes and a small scar between 3and 4 toes to remove neuromas. I was delighted and still am. It never really hurt in fact last year my broken ankle hurt worse. It is surgery so obviously has risk but from experience it was really brilliant and apart from the dreaded blue surgical boot it as never any issue. But I did wear a healed shoe on my right foot as they recommend because if you walk unbalanced you can hurt your hip. Recovery was off the feet for a couple of days then walk and plaster off after 6 weeks..
Hi Medway Lady. Thank you so much for your reply it’s so reassuring to get positive feedback.
It was a life changer for me. I found it exceedingly difficult to find shoes that would fit before. The pain never left me. Having all my toes straightened, and screws in my big toes mean my toes are more shoe shaped. They are shorter, I cannot move my toes as the tendons were cut and a bone removed but have.slight movement in my big toes. My surgeon said he could not give me pretty feet but functioning feet. I walked like a duck at first as you cannot grip . Some bending has returned .Took 6 weeks to be able to return to work and 6 months for total bone healing. I have RA and it is still active in my feet but a big improvement.Good luck.
I was warned sometimes people are left being unable to bend foot, but luckily for me my foot returned to a new normal. Bending as it should and I could stand on tip toe too. And to celebrate I bought a pair of silver and blue wired 3 inch heal tie up ribbon sandals. I still wear and love them. We should all be able to access surgery to help restore normal function if it’s possible it makes me so cross that people have to put up with pain when it can be helped.
Hi Annie J. Thank you for your reply, it’s so reassuring to have positive feedback. The surgery you've had sounds similar to the surgery I will be having. My ankle has also collapsed on the same side, but that’s for another day.😀
Fingers cross you will be delighted. I had both feet done at the same time. Which meant I stayed home for 6 weeks as I had hooks with wine corks on the end of all toes. One surgeon did one foot and another the other. One toe is a bit longer than the others and has bent a bit with time , but other than that a good job was done.
Thank you. Everyone seems very positive.
When I said some bending has retuned , I mean't some deformity has returned, mainly in one toe which was not as short as the others. I cannot move my toes.
I have had five surgeries on my feet, two as a teen 45 years ago and three more recently. I don't regret any of them. The most recent ones were actually really fun. I had nerve blocks and no sedation so I was right there in the operating room with them. I had a great time!
Recovery is fine if you follow instructions. I had a 'station' on the sofa with cushions to elevate my foot, all my books, laptop, radio, phone and so on. I would come down in the morning (I am a carer for my adult disabled son) and walk a one way system picking up in a basket what I needed for the day in the way of food and drink, then I would settle down for breakfast and work for the morning from my station. Son would come down at lunch time to help a bit, and in the evening he would make dinner under my instructions which was for me just putting my home made 'ready made' meals in the oven. I can't take many painkillers so it was mainly paracetamol and ice.
I now have feet that fit into shoes. And it wasn't like I had ever worn high heals or ever would, the lumps and bumps on my feet meant that no shoes fit. So I am really glad I did it.
I hope you have as much fun as I did!
nras.org.uk/resource/surger...
You may find the above resource on the NRAS website helpful too
Really interesting article, thank you.
Thanks Claire. Very interesting.
Hi Lematt ,I am just recovering from the 2nd of two ops to remove infected RA bones in my rt foot. I had both done in day surgery and on crutches for 6 weeks my foot is starting to feel normal now so expect to abandon the crutches in 2 weeks and back to driving again go for it well worth having done
Thanks so much for your encouragement. I’m having it done in a specialist podiatrist surgery department as I was put off by the orthopaedic surgeon who said he could amputate my toes as an option.🤔😡
Good luck hope all goes well for you
I haven’t had this done but am envious that people are getting their feet sorted. I was told that they’d only operate if I couldn’t actually walk on them. Doesn’t matter if they’re agony 😔
So sorry to hear this. My feet are really deformed and I find it very difficult to find shoes that fit. Also have one foot narrower than the other.
Hope they take notice of you soon.
I was told they operate when as it happened in my case the degree of turn is over 27. So I’d urge you if your foot or foot is damaged to ask to see a surgeon.
I’ve seen a surgeon but they won’t do anything. Can I ask what you mean by degree of turn? Maybe my problem is different.
Only my left foot is affected by RA and my toes all started to move to the right. So when the surgeon put a ruler along the inside edge it showed the big toe had turned to the right by 30 degrees. That meant my whole foot was turning to the right and the bones were growing new bits as they moved. It was impossible to get nice shoes and it really hurt too. So I’d had insoles made and that made the problem worse, but the surgeon said the podiatrist had made the problem worse and insoles are useless for some foot issues. I was lucky my GP referred me and even luckier that the surgeon operated on the NHS.
Ah ok, thanks, a bit different to me, I’ll keep pushing for a solution.
I seem to think it had a name Fibula deviation ?
Thanks for that, I had a look and though my big toe is like that the others aren’t.
I have this surgery twice two toes on each foot. The surgery went well, but my toes are starting to claw again. My advice is think before you go with the surgery. xxxxx
I had the bones broken and pinned many years ago, after my triple foot fusions, it wasn’t painful or having the pins removed, for me worth doing. I go to chair yoga and we do foot exercises, it doesn’t look like I’m doing them ! but it has helped with getting more movement back in them. X
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