Hi Debbie @dbeshears1, I've had hammertoes pretty much most of my adult life and can't really remember when I first noticed them. My neuropathy symptoms came on gradually and 20+ plus years later in 2016 when I finally decided to see a neurologist to get a diagnosis, he actually asked me if he could take pictures of my hammertoes for his upcoming training session he was working on. He said they were typical for folks with peripheral neuropathy. Fast forward to a few months ago when I started thinking if I should check into having surgery to see if it might help with my balance issues I made an appointment with a Mayo foot specialist. After the exam he said they really don't consider doing surgery unless you have open sores or ulcers on the toes that won't heal that could lead to a bad infection and possible amputation. Since I didn't have blisters or sores on the tops of the toes he said just to keep wearing shoe with a wide toe box and softer material on top so that it doesn't rub sores or put pressure on the toes.

My wife's older sister who is an RN had a couple of hammer toes but never had neuropathy. She had the surgery which straightened them out and said she didn't really have any pain and was glad she had it. That's one of the reasons I decided to look into the surgery. The foot specialist I talked with said there can be a lot of risks associated and the surgery results might make it worse which gave me more cause for concern.