Chilectomy anyone? (pain, ankle, hair, surgery)

[Flamingo13]

Has anyone had this procedure done (in a nutshell, it's shaving down the top joint of the great toe, removing arthritis and drilling some holes to try to get cartilage to regenerate). I'm a wimp when it comes to painful things, LOL - I'm also concerned because: I live alone, this will be my right foot which will be in a boot thing - no driving for 4 weeks or so - I'm also having home remodeling done which starts Thurs. and they give a 75 day timeline (due to the loan circumstances, this can't be changed).

Appreciate any info. from someone who has gone through this - TIA

[jaminhealth]

Originally Posted by Flamingo13

Has anyone had this procedure done (in a nutshell, it's shaving down the top joint of the great toe, removing arthritis and drilling some holes to try to get cartilage to regenerate). I'm a wimp when it comes to painful things, LOL - I'm also concerned because: I live alone, this will be my right foot which will be in a boot thing - no driving for 4 weeks or so - I'm also having home remodeling done which starts Thurs. and they give a 75 day timeline (due to the loan circumstances, this can't be changed).

Appreciate any info. from someone who has gone through this - TIA

I know nothing about this but will send a DM with what could work, but no guarantees to anything and so much can be so invasive.

[Flamingo13]

Thanks jamin but you're thing won't work - I have a bone in my foot that's too high and it's jammed against the joint, so bone on bone.

[TFW46]

That sounds so painful, Flamingo. But it does sound like you need the surgery and not some alternatives from people trying to push their agenda.

I had surgery on my right foot 5 years ago: fusion of all the lisfranc (mid-foot) joints. All the joints were fused into one single mass of bone. I was non-weight bearing for almost 6 months. I had to farm out my dear dog with a relative and used a transport service for followup appointments with the surgeon.

I ordered a lot of canned/boxed food from Amazon in advance. I also ordered from places like Pizza Hut during the recovery. A neighbor also brought over meals regularly and brought my mail in every day -- if I hadnt had her help, I'd have contacted a service like Meals on Wheels to help out.

I bought a wheelchair to get around in the house. It's much easier to deal with a wheelchair than crutches or a trike.

I also bought a couple of inexpensive walkers, one with wheels and one without. My wheelchair was too wide to get through my bathroom door so I kept one walker inside the bathroom, right by the door -- I'd wheel up to the bathroom door and then transfer to the walker.

(I could have rented the wheelchair and the walkers, as well as a lot of other equipment -- but I chose to buy because the surgeon warned me that I'd need the same surgery on my left foot eventually.)

I couldnt bathe for the first couple of weeks. I used the kitchen sink to hand-bathe and wash my hair -- I'd wheel up to the sink and then put my non-weight bearing foot up on a bench so I could stand while washing.

When I could finally shower, I used a transfer seat to sit on. I also used a special heavy-duty cast cover that prevented the surgical area from getting wet when I showered. Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Curad-Cast-Pr...+after+surgery

I bought a portable potty and kept it right by my bed for the 1-2 weeks right after the surgery, when I couldnt even use the wheelchair much. I wont go into how I emptied/cleaned it -- if you need to know you can DM me.

I also bought a wedge pillow to keep my foot raised when I was in bed. That helped greatly with the discomfort.

Most importantly, I did a lot of advance reading about what people did when recovering from foot surgery and got a lot of good advice from forums where people had posted. I cant recall exactly what I googled but it was something like "recovering from foot surgery".

Do you have to have the surgery before the home remodeling? I'd try to postpone the surgery until after the remodeling has been completed if I were you, if you're not in unbearable pain right now. Maybe the surgeon can give you some painkillers to get you through the 75 days of remodeling.

I'll be praying for you.

[Texas Ag 93]

I asked my husband, who's an Orthopedic Foot and Ankle surgeon, if he did this procedure and his response was "Yeah" and when I asked how the outcomes were, he said "Depends".

So, with that vague answer (because that's all a non clinician like myself should be providing by proxy on an internet forum), I think TFW46's response above is probably one of the most comprehensive and realistic answers I've seen on this forum about the realities of how having a surgical procedure can affect your quality of life, even in a case of a comparatively minor elective surgery on an extremity like you're considering.

I think many people really, really underestimate the recovery time and impact it will have on all activities of daily living. I know many people forgo having surgery for months (if not altogether) after they consider the issues surrounding recovery. Of course, only you can answer that question for yourself.

[TFW46]

One other important thing I forgot to mention, Flamingo...before my surgery I bought a TV set for my bedroom. I love to read but couldnt see myself reading that much when I knew I was going to be bedbound for the greater part of 6 months. I dont know how long the recovery time is for your surgery, but you could rent a TV if you dont have one in the bedroom and dont want to buy one. Even if you dont think you'll miss TV, you may find out differently once you're bedbound.

Again, please google something like "foot surgery recovery" or "chilectomy recovery" to find forums in which people discuss their recoveries. I learned so much from their posts, things that would never have occurred to me.

[Flamingo13]

Thanks TFW and Texas Ag.

Texas Ag - I talked to the Dr. yesterday (had to have a toenail removed on the other foot - my feet are a mess, LOL) - I'd come across some blogs on the procedures and that were all pretty much as you husband said: some said no pain after, some pain for a few days, some terrible pain, some had swelling, etc. - all were diff. and my Dr. agreed - It Depends.

[Zymer]

Originally Posted by TFW46

I bought a wheelchair to get around in the house. It's much easier to deal with a wheelchair than crutches or a trike.

I saw a neat gizmo recently- someone had a foot in a cast, and instead of using crutches, had an artificial leg/foot strapped to the [bent] knee. She was moving along right quickly, walking at a fast pace almost as well as anyone else.

It was clearly good for getting around outside, but I can see where care would have to be used in the house (so as not to whack the foot on walls, etc.)


I had to have toe bones fused back when I was in the Army, it wasn't bad (compared to the pain of a year of walking on it after cramming my crooked toes into a combat boot). The worst part was the stainless steel sticking out the end, it took a couple of days of practicing with crutches to stop banging against things. Gave up the crutches after a while, it was easier to just walk on my heel until the rods were removed.

I didn't have a cast boot, just something like a wooden-soled sandal with a canvas upper, that left the toes exposed.

ETA: FWIW, you *can* learn to drive with your left foot if you have an automatic transmission, well, *I* did, after breaking an ankle...which was when my wife (then GF) learned to drive a stick- we had to trade cars because my Mustang had a four-on-the-floor.

[JanND]

Originally Posted by Flamingo13

Thanks jamin but you're thing won't work - I have a bone in my foot that's too high and it's jammed against the joint, so bone on bone.

Will you have home visits to check on you? Do you have meals on wheels available? It might be a good thing to check on prescription and grocery delivery available to you.

What happens if the workman need something? Do you predict any trouble with the construction company....are you familiar with their reliability?

It sure isn't an ideal situation. Any family or neighbors that can check on you daily, at least at first.

I hope things go well for you.

[Flamingo13]

Originally Posted by Zymer

I saw a neat gizmo recently- someone had a foot in a cast, and instead of using crutches, had an artificial leg/foot strapped to the [bent] knee. She was moving along right quickly, walking at a fast pace almost as well as anyone else.

It was clearly good for getting around outside, but I can see where care would have to be used in the house (so as not to whack the foot on walls, etc.)


I had to have toe bones fused back when I was in the Army, it wasn't bad (compared to the pain of a year of walking on it after cramming my crooked toes into a combat boot). The worst part was the stainless steel sticking out the end, it took a couple of days of practicing with crutches to stop banging against things. Gave up the crutches after a while, it was easier to just walk on my heel until the rods were removed.

I didn't have a cast boot, just something like a wooden-soled sandal with a canvas upper, that left the toes exposed.

ETA: FWIW, you *can* learn to drive with your left foot if you have an automatic transmission, well, *I* did, after breaking an ankle...which was when my wife (then GF) learned to drive a stick- we had to trade cars because my Mustang had a four-on-the-floor.

Since I will have to have follow-up visits I spoke to the Dr. about driving anyway - I said I could use my left foot to brake (I hope) - she couldn't say no of course but she said "she didn't recommend it" - I'm sure to cover herself legally.

I hope you're all good as new now! I had my left foot in a cast prob. 30 yrs. ago, so used crutches - I also had two roommates to take care of me and a co-worker who carried me up the steps to to the office (we were on the upper level of a townhouse office).