Hello,
I had surgery in 2013, hallux valgus, surgery, left foot was successful, right foot was complicated, and had issues, right from the start. The Dr. chose not to acknowledge, my discomfort, and issues, and re-directed me out of his hospital, to a neurologist, which is apparently code for bury the problem. Anyway. After, multiple tests, MRI's, EMG tests, X-rays, there were issues associated with my peroneal nerve, in my foot, which came as no surprise to me. I'm frustrated, and scared, if you couldn't already tell, so I apologize for the rant, and negativity. I'm quite sure I'm not alone. Anyway, the surgery, the foot, the first metatarsal, was not set right, over shortened, and then the peroneal nerve was compressed, the fat pad, under the first metararsal, has shifted to the second toe(of course), and my arch is quite pronounced in that foot. Metatarsal healed, over elevated, I have the x-rays that show this, although it has healed over, but you can still see how the arch on that foot is quite pronounced. I can't flex, the foot, I have to wear, flat shoes, which would be fine, if I didn't now, afer 8 years, of just accepting, that this is just the way "it is", now, I'm having trouble, with numbness in my knee, behind my knee, pain, in my ankle(which really has always been there), and trying to figure out how I'm ever going to find someone who understands, that's it's not just one thing. It's not just my foot, or just the peroneal nerve, it's both. So, this back and forth between a foot surgeon who says, "its a nerve problem, not my wheelhouse", and a neurologist who says "its a foot problem, not my wheelhouse", there has to be someone who understands, how these two issues, are interconnected, interrelated, and obviously, a result of the surgery , additionally, the foot in and of itself, is complex, nerves, why it's such a difficult field, and why it's so plagued with poor outcomes in surgery. I can be grateful, and I am that my left foot ,is fine. It shows, that the common approach, which I have heard twice, to shorten the second metatarsal, I will never agree to that. simply because my left foot (successful surgery), has the same longer second toe, the one I was born with, and to re-design, my whole foot, to somehow match up, with the over-shortened, misplaced, (the first metatarsal of the second toe also healed, in a mis-aligned slightly, out of place , fashion), seems completely Ludacris to me. Again, sorry. I can see on the x-rays, the curve, on the right(bad) foot is significantly lower on the spectrum, of a normal curved, align=ment of the joints below the toe, but no one has ever been willing to have a conversation about that obvious fact. What I really want, is a surgeon, who understands, or is willing to entertain, the idea, that the first metatarsal, needs to be lengthened (bone graft??), I have heard of this surgery. I'll never agree to shortening the second metatarsal. Never. And perhaps, finding the pulled nerves in-between, the first and second toe, that have always felt compressed, or squeezed, and somehow either, loosening the tendons, to give the peroneal nerve relief of pressure, and perhaps there is built up scar tissue, because the bad right foot, took so long to heal, much longer than the left(successful), surgery, and after the surgery, continued to bleed. (my bunion was really bad on that foot-significantly stretched tendons, or nerves between first and second toe). I'm really afraid, and obviously not a doctor, but when no one will actually talk to you honestly, and explain, the issues without either, redirecting me to someone else, or saying something to the effect of "its' complicated", doesn't help me at all. I KNOW IT'S COMPLICATED. And it leaves me in the position, of not feeling, heard and ignored, but also leaves me feeling like the whole decision making process, to address my issues, falls entirely on my very
inexperienced, shoulders. So, here we are. 8 years later, and I'm faced with the possibility now, of not only having issues with my foot, which I gladly was accepting at one point, of being a manageable thing, and trying very hard to have some perspective, given what many suffer, with foot issues, and thought myself, fortunate, comparatively, but that has all gone out the window, now that I have weakness , in my leg, now I am in an entirely different place. I think, It's quite possible, that I do not understand exactly how complicated it is, the risk of surgery, the fact that what I think of being this fixable, issue, may not be the case. I actually did keep that in mind throughout this entire process, but here I am, and it's quite one thing, to have minor foot discomfort , and having a significantly weakened right leg, which inhibits my ability to do pretty much everything. fortunately my PCP, is very aware, and understands, that I need to take this a step at a time. Right now I have had an x-ray, of my knee, that's how this all started 2 weeks ago, I woke up, and my right knee was numb. Now, I have numbness in my groin(slightly), my thigh is tight, and aches, as well as my ankle, and calf muscle. We initially thought, it could be a bakers cyst, the x-ray shows no signs of that, I will be seeing a orthopedic surgeon, who specialty is the knee. Dr. Thomas King, NH. I am hoping, he can help. It's really scary, and an intimidating process, because if I express my frustration, I run the risk of not getting the help I seek, because I think I know everything already. Where is that line, between what you know about your body, and what you instinctively know, and where you have to lay that all aside? Is it wrong and delusional, for me to think that "I " know what the problem is?