3-Day Post-Op Visit After Hardware Removal

October 2018

Blood seepage and doc visit

I am posting a brief update for those of you that have questions about blood seepage after surgery. I wrote in my last post about how I was concerned with all of the blood on my bandage, since I had not experienced this after my first two surgeries. There are photos showing the amount of blood lost in my previous post. According to my doctor, this sometimes happens, and he did not seem concerned. There were two spots on my incisions that had fresh blood spots, which he dabbed, and then wrapped my foot back up. 

I thought my foot looked pretty gruesome when the bandage was removed. My stitches look more like frankenstein than they had before! I am afraid I am going to have some nasty scarring after this heals. My doctor had said I was going to have two small incisions, and I have two large nasty-looking ones.

I removed the photo of my foot showing the stitches that I originally shared because I had a complaint--even though this blog is meant to provide information and not to provoke disgust. Feel free to contact me, if you are interested is seeing a view of the differences between dissolvable inside stitches and exterior stitches. The scarring that I have from these two incisions with exterior stitches is worse than what I have from the dissolvable stitches on my other foot. 

#6 ~ Week Three After Second Checkup and Cast On

March 2017

Pain, swelling, and comfort

The minimal pain I had been experiencing did not change much. Since I could now move my toes, and the doctor had told me I should, I started toe exercises. I must have overdone it the first day, because in the late afternoon I had a lot of pain and tingling along the top of all of my toes, which also extended up the top of my foot from my big toe. The pain lasted for about an hour. I had thought about putting ice on my toes, but then the pain subsided before I did. I had a similar feeling the next day or so, although not as severe, since I cut back on the exercises a bit. After this, the only pain I felt when exercising my toes, was with my big toe. The entire end/tip of my big toe hurt when I bent it, along with the area where my big toe connects to my foot. It looked like a cut had been made almost all the way around my big toe in this area. This is visible in the last photo in this post, and in previous pictures of my foot with the bandage removed.

The cast was initially uncomfortable around the ankle area, and on the second evening with the cast I noticed a new problem. I loved that my toes were exposed so I could move them; however, I had not thought about the comfort of where my cast ended until I experienced the discomfort 24-hours later. The cast ended at the start of the ball of my foot, when it seems like it would have been more natural to extend to where my toes connect to my foot. The purple in the photo below is the cast. A full cast photo is visible in previous post #5. The cast was made by the doctor hand-rolling the cast wrapping around my foot, so it seems like it could have been made to fit my foot. You would not think having something rest on the edge of the ball of your foot would be bothersome; however, after a length of time it is! In fact, I considered going back to the doctor a couple of days later, as I was not sure I would be able to stand it for two weeks. Even though I was not standing on my foot, this end of the cast pressed against my foot at all times, even when my leg was elevated.

Underside of my cast

My ankle no longer felt swollen at the end of the third week, and this area was not bothersome. The top of my foot was uncomfortable instead. Even though there was soft gauze around my foot under the cast, the top of my foot was sore. It felt raw, as though the tender stitched area was rubbing against the rough cast. The ball of my foot where the cast hit underneath was also sore, as if this area around my foot was now swollen instead of my ankle. I did not understand why my podiatrist had chosen to fully cast my foot when I saw many more comfortable looking foot wrappings online. If you do an online search for "foot cast after bunion surgery," you will see many options. I thought the type of covering in the photo below looked the most comfortable. This would not be as protective as the cast; however, I would have preferred it. I was extremely diligent about the care I gave my foot, and about not putting any weight on it. I had not thought to research foot coverings, and I had not specifically asked my doctor about what kind of foot cast I would have before I had the surgery.

Photo from Margaret River Correspondent blog

Exercise

I continued the same yoga and leg raise routines, along with the added toe bends. I did the leg raises more frequently, and I added a few more leg exercises after my toes turned blueish gray in color (more about this under the next heading). I did about 10 minutes of leg exercises every hour or so. After my toe pain the first day, I initially cut back on the toe exercises, and then I gradually increased the amount I did. I did not stretch my big toe as much as the others; not only because it was painful, but I also wondered if the activity might increase scarring from the cut around this toe.

#5 ~ Week Two, Second Checkup, Stitches Removed, New Cast

March 2017

Pain and swelling

My foot pain was minimal the second week. Sure, I could feel discomfort on the top of my foot where the stitches were, and I am sure it would be painful, if my foot got bumped; however, I did not experience continual or severe pain. It was mildly painful when I wiggled my toes, which I had a difficult time with. Just like the first week, most of my discomfort came from the wrapping around my leg and foot. It felt like my toes were all scrunched together, especially my pinky toe. This contributed to me being unable to wiggle them much. The gauze between my big toe and first toe was extremely uncomfortable, as was the wrapping over the top of my big toe around the knuckle area. It felt like my ankle was still swollen at times, causing discomfort in this area. I could not wait for my second checkup to have the wrapping removed! The firm backing/support behind my leg was too tall for me, and I planned to ask the doctor to cut this down, if my leg was going to be wrapped the same way. I continued using an ice pack under my knee for a few days, which felt like it helped the swelling initially. It did not feel like this was helping after a few days, so I did not continue to use it regularly. Instead, I raised my leg higher or did leg exercises to help reduce the swelling and discomfort.

Activity

I continued with yoga daily, and I did the leg exercises about 5 or 6 times a day. Since I was moving around more, I did not do the leg lifts and bends as frequently as I had the first week when I was more inactive than active. I thought (or, hoped!) maybe my belly would become rock hard from the leg lifts and bends everyday. I did them for 5+ minutes each time; about 50 leg lefts and bends on each leg each time, and I did not see any evidence of this yet. I did, however, feel as though my leg strength was increasing.

We went out to dinner the second week. I am sure my husband wanted a break from all the dinner prep and cleanup! 😉 I did not have too much difficulty getting around with my crutches, and sitting in the restaurant was comfortable enough. I thought one of the most difficult actions was going up and down steps - Not the carpeted stairs to our basement that I schooched up and down, but the two cement steps from the porch in front of our house, and the restaurant steps with no railings. I had to be strong enough and stable enough to hop up and down each step, and then move the crutches. The drive/ride was just over a half hour one-way.

#4 ~ The First Week and First Checkup

February 2017

I had read about many different experiences that people had with this type of surgery, so I was not sure exactly what to expect. Some people said they had no pain, and others said they were practically bed-ridden in severe pain the first two weeks, or longer. Possibly, the different experiences may have to do with the doctors and procedure type, the severity of the person's situation, and/or the person's health. 

A brief reminder/summary of my situation: the bunion itself was not painful, although it caused other problems as my big toe pressed against my other toes; my surgery took less than 1½ hours, my bunion bone had been shaved/cut, and I had two screws in my foot; I am in my mid-50s, and I was healthy and active before surgery. Additionally, I had twisted my ankle falling on the ice a few weeks before surgery. My ankle had healed in terms of walking on it; however, it was still a bit swollen at times. My primary physician had told me this is normal, especially since I have a bit of arthritis in my joints.

Pain and swelling

The places where I felt pain from the surgery were the top of my foot closer to the ankle, and around my big toe. My greatest discomfort, however, was around my entire foot, just below the ankle and heel, where the foot connects to the leg. This area around my entire foot (not just the top part) became especially painful and throbbed when I exercised my leg. When I went for my first checkup, I found out this is because my ankle was so swollen. There is more about this under the checkup heading father down in this post.

#3 ~ The Day of Surgery

February 2017

At home in the morning

We needed to be at the surgery center at 6:30 a.m. My instructions said to wash the foot I would be having surgery on with anti-bacterial soap for 5 minutes. My body was also supposed to be free of all nail polish, jewelry, and any lotions or scents; including deodorant. I took a shower that morning, and then did not apply any lotions. I used my usual shampoo and conditioners on my hair, which did not cause any issues at the surgery center.

Since I would not be able to get jeans or similar pants over my leg after surgery, I opted to wear a calf-length sweater dress, which easily slipped over my head. And remember, I could not consume anything - not even water. I had been specifically told to spit out any toothpaste, and not to swallow any water, if I brushed my teeth. Which, of course, I did! Along with mouthwash, too...

Prep for surgery

At the surgical center, we went through the basic admitting process: insurance info, questions about my identity and what I was there for, confirmation of any allergies and medications, and so forth. I was in the operating room with my two physicians and assistants before 7:30 a.m.