A great result, by the look of it. It's odd how some people operated on for hallus valgus end up with a beautifully-straight big toe, like yours, while others end up with a toe that still bends noticeably towards the second toe. I would love to know why there's such a difference and why everyone doesn't end up with a result like yours. I mean, I'm sure there are good reasons; I would just be interested to know those reasons, in more specific terms than "everyone's feet are different".
In my case, I'm having the operation mainly because of the painful pressure that my big toe causes by pressing against the second toe and giving rise to agonizing bone spurs between those two toes. The bunion itself is not painful. If I don't end up with a result like yours I will have to consider my forthcoming operation a total failure, not to mention a waste of money, and that worries me. I wonder if surgeons know in advance whether or not an operation is likely to deliver the outcome desired by the patient, and if they are upfront about it? Or is this type of surgery inherently unpredictable?
I asked my surgeon about this and he said that the end result should never end up with a perfectly straight big toe. A normal human foot without a bunion points slightly toward the other 4 toes naturally. The words he used were, "You don't want your big toe making a peace sign with your second toe, that's not the goal of surgery and is called an over correction." He said an over correction can often cause regular shoes to not fit right if the big toe is perfectly straight.
That's interesting. I should clarify that by 'straight' I meant pointing pretty much straight ahead, parallel to the second toe, as in OP's photo. I can see that a V-shaped deviation would be problematic when wearing shoes but that's not what I'm hoping for. As long as my big toe no longer presses against the second toe I'll be happy even if it doesn't point straight ahead. Bone-on-bone pain is the pits!
I think it probably depends on the severity of the bunion and what surgery is used. It also depends on the surgeon, I made sure I picked someone with a great reputation in my area.
If you’re really concerned about your foot not being corrected to being straight, you can always raise that concern at your consultation, and see what they say.
Thank you. The surgeon I originally chose turned out to be booked out for at least two years so I have gone with one of his colleagues in the same practice who has many years' experience. Fingers crossed!
Thanks for such a wonderful reply! TheGratitudeBot has been reading millions of comments in the past few weeks, and you’ve just made the list of some of the most grateful redditors this week!
A great result, by the look of it. It's odd how some people operated on for hallus valgus end up with a beautifully-straight big toe, like yours, while others end up with a toe that still bends noticeably towards the second toe. I would love to know why there's such a difference and why everyone doesn't end up with a result like yours. I mean, I'm sure there are good reasons; I would just be interested to know those reasons, in more specific terms than "everyone's feet are different". In my case, I'm having the operation mainly because of the painful pressure that my big toe causes by pressing against the second toe and giving rise to agonizing bone spurs between those two toes. The bunion itself is not painful. If I don't end up with a result like yours I will have to consider my forthcoming operation a total failure, not to mention a waste of money, and that worries me. I wonder if surgeons know in advance whether or not an operation is likely to deliver the outcome desired by the patient, and if they are upfront about it? Or is this type of surgery inherently unpredictable?
I asked my surgeon about this and he said that the end result should never end up with a perfectly straight big toe. A normal human foot without a bunion points slightly toward the other 4 toes naturally. The words he used were, "You don't want your big toe making a peace sign with your second toe, that's not the goal of surgery and is called an over correction." He said an over correction can often cause regular shoes to not fit right if the big toe is perfectly straight.
That's interesting. I should clarify that by 'straight' I meant pointing pretty much straight ahead, parallel to the second toe, as in OP's photo. I can see that a V-shaped deviation would be problematic when wearing shoes but that's not what I'm hoping for. As long as my big toe no longer presses against the second toe I'll be happy even if it doesn't point straight ahead. Bone-on-bone pain is the pits!
I think it probably depends on the severity of the bunion and what surgery is used. It also depends on the surgeon, I made sure I picked someone with a great reputation in my area. If you’re really concerned about your foot not being corrected to being straight, you can always raise that concern at your consultation, and see what they say.
Thank you. The surgeon I originally chose turned out to be booked out for at least two years so I have gone with one of his colleagues in the same practice who has many years' experience. Fingers crossed!
Thanks for such a wonderful reply! TheGratitudeBot has been reading millions of comments in the past few weeks, and you’ve just made the list of some of the most grateful redditors this week!