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So I have bunions, and over the past year the left side has gotten noticeably worse.

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Minimally Invasive Bunion Surgery (MIS)Hammer Toe Surgery & CorrectionPain Management After Foot Surgery

So I have bunions, and over the past year the left side has gotten noticeably worse. I have little to no pain still. My feet do ache after being on them awhile but I also have very low arches so not sure what is contributing to that more. My question is, is it better to have surgery that is minimally invasive before things get worse? Or better to wait until there is pain? I don’t like the idea of elective surgery really but I know this will only worsen. I’m in my late 40s if that matters. Thanks!

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Community comment#1

This is my question as well. I'm so fearful that nothing is guaranteed and that I may have more problems than what I started with.

Community comment#2

I went ahead and did it for my left foot before it was super painful. I’m 51, a runner and did not have pain either. My discomfort was from the friction of the bunion rubbing in certain shoes. I knew it was only going to get worse so decided to do it while I was still active and young-ish 🤗. Here’s my before/after. I had 3 pinhole incisions and no metal hardware. Was back to full activity by 10 weeks post op.

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Community comment#3

Similar situation, except my right foot started with little to no pain and while I've had bunions for close to 20 years, the pain got worse and worse within the last 5 years- I'm 39. I only have mild to moderate bunions. I ended up getting MIS 3.5 months ago, and I have my other foot (no pain) in 2 weeks. I've read horror stories on this group about severe cases with highly complex surgeries and I personally decided to take care of it sooner rather than later. I spent a lot of time researching surgeons as well. While I'm not 100% healed of course, I already am so happy I did it

Community comment#4

I had surgeons. Tell me, don’t do it for cosmetic reasons.

Community comment#5

Make sure you know exactly what the procedure is so that you manage the expectation of the recovery/down time. I have no metal, but I was dislocated, cut, pinned, and relocated with MIS. Surgeon says best to do so if you do not want the bunion to return and do HIT work.

Community reply · In reply to an earlier comment#7

yeah, I'm a retired acute care OT who's seen enough straightforward elective surgery go awry. Always told myself I wouldn't get surgery for anything unless it was impairing function. In this case my other toes are becoming deformed because of the bunion, but I can still do caminos.

Community reply · In reply to an earlier comment#11

when could you start running? I’m week 3- similar foot except that my toe had to be dislocated, cut and pinned with OSSIO and then relocated. I assume you did not have the same big toe experience. I’ll be walking in a shoe, peloton, swimming at week 10 but no HIT until 16 weeks. Thanks

Community reply · In reply to an earlier comment#18

it wouldn’t be cosmetic it would be getting ahead of it before it gets bad/painful and requires a more invasive surgery.

Community comment#19

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Community comment#20

... Bunions are a structural issue, so there is no need to wait until you experience pain. I had bunions for 20+ years with no issues but over the last few years mild discomfort eventually evolved into pain. I had MIS bunion surgery 2 months ago on my right foot and my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner.

Community reply · In reply to an earlier comment#21

I asked myself that question all the time. I never got it done. I’m 64. Had them for about 20 years. I probably saw a total of six doctors, four that said don’t do it, two that said they would. One said that looks hard and I don’t like to do hard. I kid you not. So I didn’t do it because I can still walk. I only get pain if I’ve been on my feet for more than three hours and have the wrong shoes on. It seems to me they don’t know if it will get any worse, it depends on each individual. This is just my guess. The Penn foot Surgeon is the one that said, ‘ if there’s no pain and it’s not cosmetic, she didn’t wanna do it. She told me her mother had the same feet (bunions and hammertoes) and she advised her not to do it. If I had to do it all over again, and do it earlier, I can still walk so I’m not sure of the answer. Geez, I’m sorry I should’ve wrote a book🫪

Community reply · In reply to an earlier comment#24

... I had the MIS bunion surgery technique. Even though I could "weight bare" from day one. That's not quite the same as walking with full range of motion. To walk fully it took me a full month. The post op discomfort was far easier to deal with than bunion pain. Walking is currently no problem and I have no regrets.

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