Bunions and Treatment

Bunions is the name given to the visual disturbance that occurs due to the deformity at the edge of the great toe. Bunion deformity usually occurs as a result of familial predisposition, wearing bad quality shoes, weight, and problems such as flat feet or high arches on the patient’s feet.

The reasons that lead to bunions are as follows; Bunions may occur in flat feet, high arching foot structure, genetic infrastructure disease, weight problem, rheumatic diseases and soft tissue problems.

We perform surgical treatment in bunions in case of pain development. We prefer surgical treatment in painful feet, especially in cases where it is difficult to wear shoes, decreased daily activity time in patients, and nerve problems with prominent little finger deformities.

There is no need for surgical treatment in all bunions. Surgical treatment has no place in the treatment of especially painless bunions. We surgically treat bunions in the problem of pain that usually occurs with wearing shoes, and in deformities.

While doing bunion treatment, we make an effort to solve all the other problems that are usually present in the foot at the same time, in the same session. That’s why we try to solve the hammer toe problems and bunionette problems in the same session.

We operate bilaterally in most of the cases in bunion problems. Because, in most of the cases during the operation, we allow you to step on it immediately after the operation. However, in some specific surgeries performed in very advanced cases, there is a process in which we do not allow patients to step on the ground. We prefer this type of surgeries to be performed individually, but as I mentioned above, we perform the operations bilaterally in 80%-90% of the patients.

Procedure

This operation is generally accepted by insurance companies, but there are also insurance companies that do not accept this surgery due to family reasons or genetic predisposition, depending on the characteristics of insurance companies. we usually get a pre-approval from the insurances before starting the operation with our patients, highlighting and learning whether the insurance is covered or not.

You can reach our nurses, physiotherapists and patient advisors via whatsapp at any time during the post-operative period. It will not be a problem for you to reach us via the phones that are open 24 hours a day.

You will be followed by groups that provide professional services from the moment you arrive in Turkey for pre- and post-operative transfers. You will receive support from the tourism company we work with and the translators accompanying them during airport, hotel and hospital transfers. You will be provided with services by these people, especially during your hotel, airport transfers and transfers to the hospital, by our health consultants.

In fact, the answer to this question is available in the form we have written. We offer patients a seven-day package. When patients come to Istanbul in the first two days of this package, they stay at the hotel and complete their pre-operative preparations. In the next process, they stay in the hospital for three nights, spend the last two nights in their hotels and we say goodbye to them and send back to their countries at the end of the seventh day.

On the fifth day after the operation, we will ensure that our patients return to their countries on the seventh day in total in Turkey.

In the hospital, our patients are informed about the exercises they will do at home in the first three days after the surgery, the home care process, and the rules they will follow until the end of the third week. From the end of the third week, we will discuss the progress of their follow-up by making online interviews with our patients every third week until the end of the fourth month. We will follow our patients with appointments given over the online system.

Surgery

Classically, liver and kidney function tests, chest X-ray, ECG are among the tests to be done before the surgery. If you have a specific ailment, tests made specifically for that ailment will also be added. For example, if you have diabetes, tests regarding your blood sugar level will be done in relation to your diabetes.

We decide on the type of anesthesia to be performed after consultation with anesthesiologists. After the anesthesiologist examines you and evaluates your tests, we share with you what they prefer from general anesthesia, epidural or spinal anesthesia or block anesthesia, and we chart out the way accordingly.

If our surgery is unilateral, it will take approximately 1-1.5 hours, if it is bilateral, it will take approximately 3 hours.

All materials to be used during the surgery are world-class materials. All of the materials we use are the materials of orthopedic companies known in Europe and America such as Johnson and Johnson, Zimmer. We use materials of the highest standards.

Your stay in the hospital is three nights. During this three-day hospital stay, general information will be given about the control of your pain, your wound care, and the exercises you will do at home.

A bunion returning after surgery has a recurrence rate of roughly 10% throughout the course of a patient’s lifetime. The majority of people are able to endure a minor bunion recurrence. Significant recurrences of the bunion that are problematic and necessitate additional surgery are significantly less frequent. If the bunion is not totally repaired at the time of surgery or if the incorrect bunion technique is done, recurrence may occur. It could also happen if patients don’t properly follow to the postoperative instructions. Although far less often, overcorrection, or “hallux valgus,” is still a concern. The need for a second operation could be due to overcorrection or recurrence (revision surgery).

Due to the inherited nature of bunions, various medical disorders may increase a person’s risk of recurrent bunions. Any disease that increases tissue flexibility or hypermobility may be the reason for recurrence. The bunion may return if the bones don’t correctly heal. When possible, use sensible, comfortable shoes to sustain your bunion correction.

Minimally Invasive

Only a physical examination of your foot can determine this. including watching you stand and examining your foot’s weight-bearing X-rays You might require a more complex, open operation if your severe deformity is connected to other foot issues that require for surgical treatment. To determine which procedure is best for you, it is best to consult with your orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon.

Patients should relax and avoid activity for the first two weeks following any foot surgery. It is often advised to elevate the surgical region 50% of the time in the second week and 80% of the time in the first week. You will be permitted to put weight on your foot either after 24 hours (for PECA surgery) or after two to four weeks, depending on the type of repair you had . Most patients take at least two weeks off from work, longer if they are required to commute by car or public transit, unless they work from home.

Whether you undergo open or minimally invasive surgery will greatly affect how long it takes you to fully recover. Patients undergoing minimally invasive surgery can typically walk in regular footwear after six to eight weeks following the PECA treatment . After then, exercise is raised to the patient’s tolerance level. Running and jumping are prohibited for a period of twelve weeks, although cycling, spinning, walking, and swimming are permitted as the patient is able.

After surgery, you will wear the unique post-op shoe for around six weeks. Depending on your level of swelling and comfort, you can usually start wearing regular sneakers after six weeks. By three months after surgery, the majority of patients are able to wear all sneakers and boots as well as flat, comfortable shoes. After surgery, patients may endure some edema for six to twelve months, which might also make wearing high-end shoes difficult.

The time it takes to put on regular shoes can vary depending on the individual and whether or not the foot has undergone additional surgery, such as a hammertoe correction. Usually, 10 to 12 weeks after surgery, you can wear regular sneakers. From that point on, you can raise your activity level as tolerated.

Most people are really pleased with their bunion surgery. The results are excellent provided the patient properly adheres to the postoperative guidelines. Surgery for bunions is not without dangers, though. Any foot operation can result in delayed bone healing, though this seldom happens. Patients who overextend themselves too quickly (against medical advice) or who have health conditions that may interfere with bone healing are more at risk of experiencing this risk. After the treatment, some numbness may be felt near the incisions. Usually, this fades away after three to six months. Rarely, it might continue. Bleeding, blood clots, and anesthesia-related concerns are other uncommon problems. Any kind of bunion treatment can result in recurrence; this risk is not known to be higher in patients who have minimally invasive surgery for bunion correction.

Most people are really pleased with their bunion surgery. The results are excellent provided the patient properly adheres to the postoperative guidelines. Surgery for bunions is not without dangers, though. Any foot operation can result in delayed bone healing, though this seldom happens. Patients who overextend themselves too quickly (against medical advice) or who have health conditions that may interfere with bone healing are more at risk of experiencing this risk. After the treatment, some numbness may be felt near the incisions. Usually, this fades away after three to six months. Rarely, it might continue. Bleeding, blood clots, and anesthesia-related concerns are other uncommon problems. Any kind of bunion treatment can result in recurrence; this risk is not known to be higher in patients who have minimally invasive surgery for bunion correction.

Recovery

The first image of your foot after surgery will be a slightly swollen image. Your toes will appear slightly thicker and swollen than normal for about 2-3 weeks. By the end of the third week, your toes will regain a normal appearance and will have reached the shape they had planned before the surgery, roughly by the end of the sixth week.

After this surgery, there will be a scar of approximately 4 cm on the underside of your foot. this scar is an extremely thin scar. there will be a thin scar that is fainter than the palm prints in the hand. If it is convenient for us to do your surgery with the closed method, if your foot allows it, technically there will be no other scars on your foot apart from a few very small stitches.

You are likely to feel pain within two days of the operation. For this reason, you will receive serious pain relief treatment in the first 48 hours of your hospital stay. The most important reason for your stay in the hospital will be to prevent your pain from being felt. Generally, after the second day, the pain decreases to a very low level and decreases to a level that can be followed up with simple drugs such as paracetamol, especially after the fifth day of the operation, the pain level decreases to a level where no medication will be used.

There will be no need for any physiotherapy after this procedure. There will be some exercises that you should start roughly after the tenth day of the surgery. With the exercises you will do until the end of the sixth week, your toe movements will be restored.

After the third week of the surgery, we allow you to do 50% of your daily activities. After the sixth week, we allow you to do activities related to driving a car, doing an exercise and standing for a long time.

We allow our patients to drive six weeks after surgery.

After the surgery, if you are a person who works at the desk job that you do while sitting, you can return to your job after the fourth week. We allow you to return to work after the sixth week if you are standing during your work routine or your job requires standing for 6-8 hours.

We switch to sports shoes around the fourth week of the surgery. There is a period of time we spend with sports shoes until the end of the fourth month. Between four and six months, we systematically start trying on daily women’s shoes in a certain order.

After the operation, there will be no restriction of movement in your great toe. The range of motion of your finger will be completely normal.