Common Questions About Revision Bunion Surgeries (2024)

FAQs

What questions to ask about bunion surgery? ›

Cons of Lapiplasty Bunion Surgery

These include potential complications like arthritis and avascular necrosis, and nerve damage which may cause limited or uncomfortable sensations in the feet. Some patients may still experience ongoing pain and swelling despite the surgery.

Revision surgery is for those with deformity and pain after bunion surgery. The pain may be the same or different from that experienced before the first surgery. Your foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeon will examine deformities of bones and joints and their various angles around the first toe.

During that time, you may experience pain, swelling, and stiffness. In addition, you may require physical therapy to help you regain full function of the affected foot. Another reason to avoid bunion surgery is the high failure rate. Studies have shown that bunion surgery has a failure rate of up to 40%.

Prior to bunion surgery, it's important to prepare your home for an easy and more comfortable recovery. Create a recovery zone in your home and make it accident-proof by removing clutter and making sure you create a space for resting and elevating your foot. Make everything you need for recovery within easy reach.

Over-correction of the angular deformity, resulting in a big toe that points inward toward the opposite foot (known as hallux varus deformity): the toe points in the wrong direction due to a muscular imbalance resulting from a failed surgery.

Will I Be Able to Bend My Big Toe after Lapiplasty? Yes, you will still have normal movement of your big toe after this surgery at Bone & Joint Specialists. The fusion in this procedure takes place at the metatarsophalangeal joint. This is deemed to be more of a “non-essential” joint.

Since bunions are a 3-dimensional deformity a procedure that corrects all 3 dimensions is required. Osteotomies only correct 2 of the 3 dimensions. Lapiplasty surgery failures are reduced to only 3-5% according to current studies. Lapiplasty recovery time is also shorter!

We also then have the patient go to sleep, but it's a little bit lighter than our average, general anesthesia. This helps you wake up a little faster. Our recovery typically is going to be about six weeks in a weight-bearing boot.

The Lapiplasty procedure corrects the root cause of bunions — a misaligned toe bone — while dramatically shortening the time patients have to wait to bear weight on the affected foot. The technique is a new approach to a traditional Lapidus bunionectomy.

Will my foot ever be the same after bunion surgery? ›

And once post-surgery swelling has gone down, toes often look more normal than they did before. Here's an example of what a foot typically looks like after bunion surgery. The bunion will be greatly reduced in size, so your foot will likely look the way it did before the bunion developed.

Lapiplasty® is a new procedure using patented technology to correct not only the bunion, but its root cause.

Arthritis: Bunionectomies are not recommended for people with arthritis in their toes because the procedure can actually cause the condition to worsen. Diabetes: People with diabetes are at a higher risk for developing complications after any type of surgery, including a bunionectomy.

Sometimes, bunions can be painful, especially if they're large enough to rub against the shoe. There's no cut-and-dry rule regarding an age limit for bunion surgery.

Prolonged swelling, infection, and deep vein thrombosis can result from this treatment. Some of the other possible complications include over- or under-correction, loss of correction, joint stiffness, and nerve entrapment.

You will need to wear your surgical shoe for six weeks following surgery. During this time, the cuts to your bone and the repair to your soft tissue will be healing. After six weeks, your foot should be sufficiently healed to walk without your surgical shoe.

Once you are at home, you will need to rest and keep the foot elevated on 1 or 2 pillows to help reduce pain and swelling. Your healthcare provider may also recommend that you apply ice and limit walking. You may be advised to use a cane or walker following surgery. It is important to keep the dressing clean and dry.