I have had a big toe joint replacement = all is not well - eight months down the track = been very tough = can pnly just get a pair of flat shoes on - with difficulty.
What does your surgeon have to say ? How was the movement pre op ? Poor you I have similar poor outcome following foot surgery !
I hope you have some support,
Lou
Hi
I had similar in January and still cannot wear any footwear apart from SOFT flats or clogs/ mules. I order these from Amazon. I am feeling quite down about this because I cannot dress up for evening occasions with ugly footwear. The joint is still quite sore. I am a secondary teacher so still get a lot of swelling at the end of the day.
I have tried on so many brands of shoes but with no luck yet.
I was warned by friends that it will take over a year to get back to normal.
lets hope it is so.
Hi Lou,
Thank you for your message - what has been your problem? I would be interested to hear your story - did you have a replacement toe joint?
Hi there,
I had a scarf osteotmy and akins procedure pins were put in wrongly and I also had major wound issues am much worse off now than pre op. Only alble to wear flat wide shoes unable to flex big toe upwards ! Disaster , surgeon said it was a less than optimum outcome......!!!
What did your surgeon say ?
Louise
Sorry to hear that your replacement has not gone well. I had mine replaced on October 6th, 2014 and have had a very different experience. My surgeon used a Futura Classic implant constructed of Ultrasil, a medical grade silicone elastomer. It is produced by the company Tornier who merged with Wright Medical just this year. I also had an achilles repair performed on the same foot at the same time. Three weeks on crutches, no weight baring, then two weeks in a soft boot. The sixth week I was allowed to walk in sneakers. Eight weeks after surgery, I was taken off all restrictions. During my recovery, I was diligent with my toe stretching excercises which helped improve my range of motion. The pain associated with the arthritis and bone spur that was there previously is gone. There is still some stiffness and mild pain after a day of walking, however, it is diminishing each week. As a man, I do not have to deal with high heels which is likely an advantage over a woman recovering from this type of surgery. I would definitely suggest obtaining another opinion from a well-experienced expert in the field. I have the advantage of being involved in the medical device business for many years and searched out one of the best to perform my procedure. There are definitely quality differences in surgeons and devices! Best of luck in finding a resolution. I understand completely the difficulty of living normally when each step brings pain! Good luck!
Hi, Thank for your reply to my mail - I am hoping you may ber abl to give me some further advice? I am interested to know where you had your op, and if possible the surgeon's name? I am willing to travel anywhere to get some assistance! I am sooo fed up with my situation - 9 months into it and I still cannot walk!
Many thanks - hope you reply with some further info.
hi Richard. I currently have a titanium screw in my big left toe. I still have a fair amount of pain and not much mobility. I would like to try the toe joint replacement that you did. can you please give me the name number and city of your doctor? Thx
Ugh. I had my big toe joint replaced as well (and a lapidus and Achilles lengtheni. That was 6 months ago. Even with Physical Therapy and continuing to do exercises to bend toe up and down, I don't have much improvement in big toe movement. When I go for walks, it is the top of my big toe that hurts. It's nice to find others who've had this done...
Hi. Its the joint and my tendons that hurt when I try to walk, hobble, I do my physio exercises and can bend toe, although painful. Is there no sign of improvement for u?
Hi Richard,
I'm having major great toe issues and I'm considering a Primus implant, which is a silicon device. How is yours doing now?
It seems like most folks get toe fusion so I'm a little nervous and looking at all of my options.
Thanks!
Nick
Dallas Texas
I'm thinking abut have a primus toe joint put. My question is.
Why all the doctor's don't offer this.
I work in construction, can it take the work load. I'm on my feet alot
Hi Richard . Have you heard of the roto-glide implant. Am thinking of having both toes done with this implant .
I month out from a titanium toe implant. It has been, really awful. Had a very bad allergic reaction, to something. Terrible itching. While that has subsided, foot still beyond sore, swollen, reddish blue purple. Big toe won't touch floor, or bend. Have to go with nothing on foot. No shoe, have knee scooter, and crutches. Doubtful I can wear a shoe for a long time. I'm 64, female and have had many surgeries in recent years and always healed very fast. This was odd. Is odd. But I am determined to get better. Probably take a year. Just know that while some people say they heal fast, some don't.
Hello Richard - thanks for your post. I am scheduled to have the same Futura Classic toe implant inserted next month and wanted to see how yours is holding up. Never a good time to do this, but I think the time has come for my "upgrade".
Hello Joe
I am 57 and 4 weeks into my surgery, i can not put weight on my foot and I using the knee scooter! I try to move my toe and it is quite painful and hurts to the touch. I have not started physical therapy as of yet “maybe in another couple of weeks”. I see that you posted 4 months ago. My question to you is...do you feel any relief yet and are things going better for you?
Hi Gloria, Quick answer, yes much, much better. But what a horrible experience it's been. Had terrible allergic reaction, to something, skin rash ghastly, all cleared up now. Took seems like a long time. But it caused me to not use my medical boot. As I couldn't put the skin next to anything. So was afraid to walk barefoot for fear of compromising the surgery. So used the knee scooter for three months. Mistake. The leg muscle atrophied when I finally started walking again the knees were failing! Both knees. I'm at 5 months out, today. The big toe like yours, was so sore and at one month I had a lot more going on than a sore toe. So you're ahead of the game in that dept. So now I'm in physical therapy for the knees. But I'm getting better there. (Arthritis ugh) Thank god for physical therapy. The big toe bends, touches the floor, but it's still swollen , after I'm on it for a couple hours. But there was a time I never thought I'd be doing this good. I may still have to have the implant removed, it seems like I have weaker wrists, popping knees and sore hands shoulders, but I just turned 65, and a lot of that I just mentioned has gotten better, a lot better. Foot looks good and I'm getting my life back. Long answer but, you'll get better, hang in there, and physical therapy will be your best friend. I've been told it's a year before we'll feel back to normal.
I JUST FOUND THIS SITE AND KNOW YOUR POSTING IS 3 YEARS, BUT I HAVE 40 YEARS' EXPERIENCE WITH (1) big toe arthritis; (2) the question of joint fusion; and (3) big toe joint replacement. TO ANYONE READING THIS: **DO NOT - DO NOT - DO NOT** elect or get pressured into joint fusion. Over 40 years of dealing with these issues, the ONLY regret is having the joints fused in my right big toe. In fact, after my first implant from 1978 (age 21) wore out in 1997, I had a new one implanted, but once it became weight-bearing, it was terribly misaligned (not a problem with the surgeon or implant, as I learned years later). We spent the next 5 years (and 8 add'l. surgeries) trying unsuccessfully to achieve alignment, and one procedure was to fuse the joints in my big toe. TERRIBLE MISTAKE! Not only did that fail, but I eventually had the "replacement" joint removed. I instantly became unable to wear standard shoes, and now, 40 years later, I have sudden, agonizing stabs of pain where the bone was fused--and it gets worse and worse as I age. There IS some good news: There's probably enough scar tissue to act like cartilage even if you have no replacement implant done. That's the case with my right big toe, and I'm going to "leave well enough alone." FORUM MEMBERS, FEEL FREE TO WRITE ME.
I am almost a year down. My implant healing process caused the joint to move over so now it looks like I have a lovely bunion on that foot. I learned to purchase a size up in shoes. Normally I wear 7 or 7 1/2 and now I purchase 8. I can wear low heeled boots and shoes as I have to dress up at work. No more cute flats for me as they get distorted while wearing due to the joint moving over. It feels better then the suffering I had before but is also still sensitive to touch and aches after a day on my feet.
I just had the right big toe joint replaced Friday, 2 days ago. I have to say that, so far, I am feeling GREAT! I Had so much pain for several years before in both feet. And now, the left big toe hurts more than the right. I'm having the left done in 2 weeks, and I can't wait! I was given Vicodin, which made me sick, so I've just been alternating advil and tylenol , which is working wonderfully. I am a clinical nurse and on my feet over 12 hours a day, so I'm nervous to go back to work in 8 weeks. If the healing continues to progress as it has, I'll be so happy!! I hope everyone here is healing and having a better experience.