bone fusion in foot - arthritis

I was offered this following a foot fracture, but in fact I turned it down and decided to soldier on with the pain and the limp.

The reasons that I turned it down were:

- the recovery and non-weight-bearing period is long - 6 weeks in plaster, 6 weeks in boot and 6 months till full union of the bones. This is assuming that all goes according to plan.
- the absence of movement between the fused bones in the foot can lead to extra stress on the ankle joint, which can then itself give problems over time.

It seemed to me that I would be likely to still limp afterwards, so nothing gained there; and that I could not guarantee that the pain would ease sufficiently to make it worthwhile. I also had to factor in that my OH is not really able to look after me during the recovery period.

However, there are papers online that indicate a successful outcome, so it is worth looking these up on google.

If you decide to go for the surgery, then I would recommend getting a knee trolley - you can get indoor and outdoor versions. You can hire them from: www.wheelfreedom.com. I hired one when I was in plaster for a long time with broken foot and it increased my freedom of movement greatly.

Good luck with all this - it is a real pest!

I agree with every word that luckygirl said but I personally would think 3 times before I had it done- I would have to be desperate because you could end up an awful lot worse if it went wrong.

If you do decide to go ahead, please choose your orthopaedic surgeon very carefully- only see somebody who only operates on ankles and feet. Please do not go to one who operates on hips, knees etc. There was a thread on this subject fairly recently- it maybe worthwhile to look that up.

Good luck.

I had arthritis in my big toe joint, it was very painful. I had the bones fused so I can no longer bend my toe.
No more pain and no problems with walking. I can't wear high heels, but that's ok.
I had a special shoe for 6/9 weeks, so I used an arm crutch and couldn't drive. After 9 weeks, I was walking and driving normally.
Fully recommend it.

Thank you all for the advice and I'll certainly look for the previous post mentioned. Glad I asked the question!

Lona - I am glad this went well for you. I would have gone for it if it had just been the one toe joint; but mine was the whole foot to be fused.

My mother had it done many years ago to help her rheumatoid arthritis. It is a long job but she had a lot of relief from pain and was pleased with the results. My BIL has recently had the same operation to fuse his ankle and is in the recovery stage and hopeful of a good outcome.

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I'm on the waiting list to have mine done my mobility is quite affected now and the pain constant. I am having the big toe fused and the joint taken out of the next toe, tendon/ligament cut not sure which, 4 months on crutches. I was silly and should have had it done a few years ago - now its much worse.

There is a big difference between having toe fusion and ankle fusion, and having a foot fusion. The latter is known to be problematical; and other two have a good track record of success and a shorter recovery period.

Teetime - I hope your surgery will sort your problems out.

Thankyou Luckygirl I have a brilliant foot surgeon whose has a lot of success- its just waiting for it now. I'd like it done so I can recover in winter then play golf next summer but he was doubtful this could happen. If I win the lottery I'll go private still with this surgeon but sooner.