Anyone had partial joint replacement of big toe?

[kat2211]

I would NEVER do it again... I had arthritis in my big toe... had surgery ,clean up the joint.... next,more pain 2 yrs later.. dr said joint is really bad, do a joint replacement, only option... 1 1/2 later ,more pain, dr said joint was loose, bone was broken.... SOOO< another surgery,put in another joint, and fixed broken bones around the joint.... OK with me so far... have been in pain ,now they have showed me my xray of my toe... the joint has moved so much, that I have hardly any bone left. If no surgery, the bone wil just fall apart. I have no other option.. the bone cant hold it anymore. if u are 60 or belon and active, find another way.. the joints wont hold up.. it ok if you are older cause there is not as much wear on it. my doctor said I was the youngest one he new to get one. ..I was54.... so , becareful.....Iam 3 days from having the replacement joint taken out...

[neversannar]

I had a full joint replacement in my big toe two years ago. It was the WORST thing I ever did. The Dr. had to go in one year later to see what was going on inside, because I was in so much pain. I was diligent with physical therapy after the second surgery hoping that was the reason for the first failed attempt. I am in so much pain every day, this is how I found these posts; looking for another surgeon to take another look to see what's wrong.

ONE OF THE WORST THINGS I EVER DID!!!!!

[ccrosb1]

I am having a partial toe replacement due to injury and arthritis. My Dr. called it a hemi implant. She said they usually last around 20 years. She doesn't feel comfortable doing a fusion since I am a smoker and this type of surgery doesn't work well with smokers. I am trying to find out the recuperation period for partial implant.

[MarciaMarshaMarcia]

I had a 2nd arthrodesis, this one on my left big toe, in late March this year. The first was on the right great toe in 2009...waited too long for that one, & suffered pain for too long. Both surgeries were done by orthopedic surgeons. These procedures fused the toe joint & ended the pain completely. My only limitation is that I can no longer wear high heels, but I really don't want to, lol. Both surgeons did not recommend toe joint replacement, citing joint failure & possible infection. My only other issue was painful plantar neuromas due to the way I was walking on my left foot prior to surgery. At the time of surgery the surgeon injected 2 cortisone shots in that area & it helped a lot with the pain. I'm still under ortho Dr. care for this, will maybe get another cortisone shot if needed.

[twilli67]

I had a hemi metal implant put into my left great toe in November 2014. The procedure was done by a podiatrist after I ignored everyone who recommended I see a full orthopedic surgeon. I was having pain daily from the bone on bone problem, so I knew I had to do something. I was told by the podiatrist that with a fusion I would walk with a limp and not have any motion. That the implant was the way to go. So I decided to have the implant put in. Post procedure I left the hospital with a boot that maybe cost $2.00 and my toe partially exposed. That night after the block wore off the pain was unbearable. I couldn't take enough Vicodin to keep up with the pain. I was not given any post op instructions and was told I could walk on it right away and was encouraged to do this. ( I just had a employee who only had some bone chips removed and was told to stay off it for a couple weeks ) After months of still being in pain I saw the podiatrist again and was told everything was fine and it could take up to a year to heal, so I went for another opinion. I was told by the next surgeon that everything looked correct and to just give it time, but she also said she did not do or recommend implants because of their failure rate. More time went by with no improvement so I went back to the original podiatrist to see what could be done. His reply was "Well maybe we should have fused it". Really.
So about 10 months into this I still have swelling and numbness. Yesterday I went to a full orthopedic surgeon who specializes in feet and got a different story. I was told that many of the implants fail and sometimes even fall out. This surgeon would not do implants but said he has removed many. Again stating that the failure rate is high with toe implants He said this would not improve and I did not even have the motion I should have gotten with the implant. The lack of motion being caused by the scar tissue that was allowed to build up. My only option to stop the pain would be to have it removed and fused. I was told a fusion is not the end of the world and that there are even NFL players and pro golfers who play with a great toe fusion. I was never told this in the past and was shocked. The pain in the toe is still so great that the way I compensate to walk is causing pain in my knees and hips. Getting a implant was probably the worse decision I have ever made, and would gladly go back to the pain I had before the surgery. It has been a terrible 10 months and I have not been able to do the things I enjoy like walking, Paddle boarding, and working out. My podiatrist told me he never takes these out but I think that is because I could not imagine letting him cut me again. I sure the patients go elsewhere to get the problem fixed. If you are thinking about having this done get a opinion from a board certified orthopedic surgeon. The Dr. I saw yesterday even gave me white paper about who you should allow to work on your feet. Leave wart freezing to the podiatrist.

[Texas Ag 93]

I am sorry you had such a bad experience. Implants have a high failure rate. A fusion is still the option that most Orthopedic Foot and Ankle surgeons recommend. Podiatrists seem to be the ones that push for the joint replacements.

There are some good podiatrists out there. They are best at the soft tissue issues, orthotics etc. Having said that, forefoot surgery on the toe is within the scope of practice of a podiatrist in any state. Just because they can do something, however, doesn't mean they should.

I have a dog in this hunt, though, because my husband is a fellowship trained Orthopedic Foot and Ankle surgeon like the ones you ultimately sought out. He has years of experience and hundreds of patients over the years that have found their way to him after first being under the care of a podiatrist. Some of them are referred to him by podiatrists who he has good relationships with when they recognize something is outside their scope of expertise. But more of them are patients who he has to do revisions on after failed attempts by a podiatrist to handle it. And, to be fair, not every failure is because of substandard care by a podiatrist. The human foot is an incredibly complex structure, and complications and failures are much higher than other orthopedic surgeries.

Hope things get better for you.