12_23_09 Stitches and Bandage Gone! Gross photos!!

Several people have asked exactly what work I had done on my feet. And they've asked to see photos. I deal with both of these in this post. Most photos are at the bottom of this post for a reason - they are a bit gross. If you are easily grossed-out, you may want to skip this post.

Many thought that my bunion surgery consisted of just removing the bump on the foot and that it is done for aesthetic purposes. For some, that may be the case - there is a wide range of surgeries that are done depending on feet. Dr. Shonka says bunions are like snowflakes - no two are alike.

My surgery was a bit more involved and it was done because of serious pain. I'd gotten to where I could walk slowly. No more. No biking. No hiking. Almost no climbing (I could climb on the outside of my feet only. Difficult to find climbs that lend themselves to that). Aesthetics were not my concern (though I feel bad for scaring the people I did with my bare feet). The second and third photo in the post show the 'before' x-rays.

I had four things done to my foot. First, a neuroma was removed from the foot. This is a scarred and inflamed nerve - the nerve that runs to toes three and four. This is the cause of the cut you see more in the middle of my foot.

Second, I had the foot bone (the one that goes to the big toe) cut in half, and shifted back toward the rest of my foot. You can see the degree of shifting done in the 'after' x-ray.

Third, I had the big bump - what people refer to as the bunion - sawed (yes, sawed) off.

And fourth, a wedge was cut out of the big toe bone. The remaining bone was pushed together and screwed into place. This allows the toe to be realigned in a straight fashion instead of trying to hide under toe two.

All of this work required a lot of soft tissue manipulation as well. Soft tissue was tightened up and loosened up as needed. The seismoid bones (two little roundish bone that go beneath the base of the big toe (you can see them on the x-rays)) needed to be pulled via soft tissue back to place under my foot. In bunions, they tend to rotate around and get out of place.

Photos of the unveiling of the new foot are below.

The surgery was great. The recovery has been great. The x-rays taken today look great. I have three new titanium screws in my foot which increases my net value. :)

I am looking forward to having the second foot done as soon as possible. I am however, afraid of PT that starts on Monday. While all feels good, I fear a therapist railing on my big toe. Ew. We'll see if I sing the same tune about doing foot 2 asap after Monday.

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