Hammer toe surgery - follow up

January 10, 2003

Hi All,

Last Dec 23rd, I had surgery on my right foot, toes 2, 3, & 4. He did a toe

flexor release and transfer. I went in at 6 AM and went home at 10:30 AM.

Xmas day I was plowing snow with a garden tractor! I was ordered to stay

off my feet for 15 days. The only pain I had was some throbbing on the

first and second day. On Dec 30 the stitches were removed, about 3 on top

of each toe and about 3 on the bottom. Last Tuesday I saw the surgeon

again, he declared it a success and told me to get out of that wheelchair

and start using my feet again. Well, I started doing that last Saturday

after I took the bandages off and just left them off. I had to wear a

special shoe with non-flexible sole.so there would be no bending of the

toes and possibly tear the stitches. The last two days I have been running

around the house barefoot, havent been able to do that for 5 years. The

hypersensitivity is gone, my toes are straight and I can still bend them.

My foot is still under the influence of some Botox injections, that should

wear off the first of February and I go back to see him again Feb 11th. My

big toe and little toe are still slightly flexed but it does not seem to

bother me, makes my middle toes stick out about 3/4 of an inch longer than

my big toe.

I would recommend anyone with this problem to seek out a knowledgeable

Orthopedic surgeon and discuss it. The one I have works directly with my

Physiatrist and is knowledgeable about spinal cord injuries and their

consequences to the bones and muscles.

I went back to PT today, my PT was impressed with my new abilities to stand

straighter and walk better with my forearm crutches. She is still finding

some excess tone in some places, releases it, then I do the various

exercises to strengthen the correct muscles now that I dont have that

hyper-reflex action from my toes.

I think this is the 5th week I have been seeing a Chiropractor .three times

week. I think that it is beneficial, especially the hip and knee pulls and

the flexing of my sacrum. It sure makes my legs more flexible.

Rick

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