Foot & Toe Operations

Operations on your big Toe

If you have had a correction of a Bunion, or of arthritis of your big toe – the HALLUX there will be bone cuts that need time to heal and get solid.

You will notice that you have a shell of plaster of Paris under the bandages. This stays on to protect your bones for the first 6 weeks, while early healing is progressing.

I will take the plaster off at three weeks to check your wound has healed. The plaster will go back on again to complete the 6 weeks of protection, until the bone healing is solid enough to go it alone.

Swelling of the tissues around the bone will continue to be present but reduce over the first 4 to 6 months.

Arthritis can still happen in a toe that has had bunion surgery, the great toe joint is one of the three most common joints to get arthritis.

Bunion surgery corrects the alignment of the bone and realigns the joint.

Operations for arthritis of the great toe joint involve, cutting out the joint and fusing the two bones solid.

Operations on the small Toes

If you have had your little toes operated on, sometimes there is a wire or two sticking out. These wires are usually protected by a plastic ball on the end. The wires will be pulled out between 4 and 6 weeks after surgery in my rooms. If you have a plaster shell, this is kept on for 6 weeks with a check at three of the wound underneath.

Like the big toe, swelling lingers on for a few months until all the advanced healing has finished.

In all cases please keep the foot wrappings including plaster, dry. If it gets wet, it must be changed as infection of your wound can be made more likely by wetness under the dressings. Walk minimally, with weight mainly on your heel, and elevate your foot as much as possible in the first three weeks, this will reduce the swelling and aid the wound healing.

You can drive again when it is safe to put full weight on your whole foot, usually this is at 6 weeks.