Hi all - I just joined this forum. I was a pro dancer in my 20's and 30's but have not danced in many years. Unfortunately, it left me with lots of joint problems. I enjoy doing yoga and walking for exercise and love to take a ballet class here and there, but it got to the point this past year where I could do none of those things without a lot of pain in my feet. At age 60, I have had a knee replacement and about 4 months ago had a big toe joint replacement as there was no cartilage left and I had bone spurs. I did not want a fusion as I knew it would limit flexibility greatly and would make all those pursuits next to impossible. My podiatrist doctor sold me on the idea of joint replacement saying it was a shorter recovery time and would allow me flexibility. That is not at all how it has been! I have had almost constant pain since the surgery. I cannot get a shoe on my foot due to the swelling and the pain.

At this point I am considering having it removed. I am seeing an ortho doctor for another opinion. After some tests it appears I am either dealing with infection in the bone, rejection of the implant or something called CRPS (complex regional pain syndrome). He's afraid that the bone is too compromised at this point to even consider a fusion and that the amount of scar tissue that has developed will create a "joint", so he has proposed just taking the implant out and letting it heal as is.

Has anyone else had this sort of thing happen?? I am so depressed about this.

I had my right metatarsal phalangeal joint fused in 2012. 45 min procedure, a small titanium plate and six screws were used in conjunction with a small chip of my heel bone to fuse the joint. No pain after at all - stayed overnight and was sent me home with endone but never needed it nor did I need panadol. Surgeon was Dr Brendan Klar in Canberra - lovely person, highly skilled surgeon. Hence there being no pain. Can wear heels up to about 4cms comfortably. Linda

Thank you for replying, Linda. It's good to hear that you had such a successful surgery. And the fact that you have enough bend in the joint to allow you to wear a small heel is encouraging. I had a "tap" of my joint this past week and am awaiting word as to whether the cultures show any infection. I too am pretty certain I am looking at fusion ultimately.

I had a left big toe joint fusion three weeks ago and the pain is still excrutiating. I had one on the rt big toe 5 yrs ago and still have pain. I do not recommend this procedure for anyone. Based on the first procedure, it was nine months before I got some relief. I get around on crutches. I am taking pain med but they said I could stop after 2 weeks but the pain is still pretty bad. The entire toe area continues to be red and swollen. The only relief I get is to stay bed-bound but they yhat is here hard to do.

This is all very interesting. I am now trying to make the decision to have the right toe fused. My orthopedic surgeon was very informative and suggested to get custom orthotics and try them out for three months before making the decision for surgery. I have a desk job, got some wide toed sensible shoes, but due to the bone spurs and lack of motion in the toe, and thickness of the bone, it causes extreme pain at times. I take off my shoes, put on my runners without the orthotics and get temporary relief. I also find that when driving the pain is so severe I can hardly stand it and want to scream. Bare feet is an option at home as most comfortable but sometimes the bone will shift and then again great pain! I have read a lot of comments about the cons of having surgery, but would really like to hear from someone who has had the fusion and have had success.
Sometimes I just want to get the surgery done and over with to lessen the pain, and my walking and enjoyment of life has considerably changed, due to a couple of years of poor posture, walking on the outside of the foot, and now at times the right knee buckles. The orthotics help in ways, but it is very difficult to find shoes that are comfortable, shoes that will fit the orthotics and shoes that are some what stylish for an office work environment.
Mr. Doctor said eventually over time the bones may fuse themselves, but what then? Has anyone had this happen and if so, was surgery required to correct the natural incorrect fusion positioning of the toe?
Need help to make a very permanent decision..

Just a followup. I must say that my foot has indeed improved suddenly. I competed in the Arthur Murray World Dance-O-Rama a few weeks ago and I was very concerned that my foot would hinder my dances. I had trained for about four hours some nights in the weeks leading to the competition. Sure enough, my foot has held up and I am dancing mostly every night. Yes, I will always have limited range of motion. But for now I can tolerate this. I am so glad that I didn't opt for a fusion or for an artificial joint.

I had fusion of my large toes on both feet. Have regretted it ever since. Cannot wear heal shoes. I will squeeze into a low heal for special ocasions, but very painful. Avoid operation at all costs, if not too late.My sister had same op, a few years later and had a joint put in .... much better option. Don't do it!

Hello all here is a long running forum about fusion

http://www.epicski.com/t/112386/my-excellent-toe-surgery-adventure-hallux-rigidus-plate-screw-fusion-and-osteotomy

hi Carolyn. I am 68 and had fusion 18 months ago and operation was perfect with regard to angle etc. little pain walking again easily. That's the good news. Unfortunately the fusion has destroyed my gait which apparently always happens. I have friends in the health industry osteopath and podiatrist and they inform me they have Never seen any other result. Because of reduced big toe flex ion walking weight is transferred to 2/3 toes and to outside of foot basically making my foot almost unusable walking over a mile or standing long time. I am on my feet a lot so maybe compounding the problem. I am an acupuncturist and should have known this result if I had followed it through enough. It is all mechanical and absolutely logical. I cannot see that the result could ever be different unless you were not walking very much day to day. I am exploring orthotic at the moment but this has pretty much altered my life drastically. I am theosophical7@gmail.com should you wish to correspond

Can you please tell me the type of hemi your dr used. I had one and about 6 months after surgery, I was on vacation & my daughter & I would take a morning walk around the lake, (1st exercise since surgery.) On the 2nd day, I took of socks & noticed a big bump on my toe. When I got home a few days later, I went to see the dr and he told me the hemi "popped" off the joint. He removed the hemi and after about a year my toe really started to bend & twist. He did a fusion & have been miserable ever since. Hard to complain when you are social with the dr.

Thank you