cheilectomy-diary

Progress, progress, progress! Vacation week and I loaded the bike on the car ready for a week of driving, cycling, camping, kayaking and hopefully, walking. Well, let's just say, I'm glad I packed the bike!  The good news is, I was pretty much able to enjoy my vacations (hols for the UK audience) without hinderance. The only bit I didn't manage was a walking trip. I can walk around all day pretty much without issue, but to actually go for a walk is - not ready for that yet.  It's been hot again, and I've been doing the exercises and icing a fair amount. I used the bike to do shops and get around. Kayaking was fine - before the op, I'd get burning pain from the spurs if I used my toes to anchor myself in the kayak, but there was also the pain of turning the toes downwards to accommodate the feet - remember, I have knee problems the same side as the foot, which prevents me being able to comfortably turn the leg outwards to allow the toes to sit sideways. But now w...

Have come away on holiday - a three hour drive in a manual car with plenty of motorway queuing, which went fine, though the under part of the MTP joint was a bit achy by the end. I'm hoping to be able to do a little walking next week, but for this week I'm happy pootling around on the bike.  At home I'm in a cheap pair of flip-flops. I couldn't bear flip-flops before the op - the bit between the toes drove me mad. But I reckon the numbness I've still got on that toe, or the op itself, is making it fine wearing them now. I actually think they provide some good PT as well, as the toe performs a little dorsal flexion - sort of gripping the sole - as I walk in them.  I was able to be pretty much back to normal at the weekend, with plenty of time on my feet, swimming and kayaking. I'm using the bike mainly rather than walking, which I would have done before the op. Otherwise, I did a lot with very little pain or discomfort. The beach here is very stony and there'...

At the 1 month milestone my first impressions are that I am doing better than I thought I would be. I've resumed driving in a normal trainer shoe and that's fine. It's only been short journeys so not sure what a long journey would be like - but, hey that's what cruise control is for.  Wearing sandals around the house now - my crocs rub on the new skin where the incision wound is, and it's too hot to wear socks at the moment - but do need supportive trainer shoe (my orange buddies) for walking any distance. Moving around the house easily and generally feeling less discomfort than before the operation. The toe doesn't ache at night like it used to, nor do I have pain like I did when I walk (the underside of the MTP joint is still a little tender - and swollen - and I can lie on my front (on the front of the foot where the bone spurs were) with no pain at all now. Mornings are easier when I first get up - bar the rather odd feeling on the outer part of the foot.  I...

I've started swimming again - yay! - and the salt water has helped move the incision wound into a better place. No scabs now, just a fresh pink line of new skin. Been walking more in a pair of new trainer/walking shoes a half size up from what I normally wear with a thick sole.  Walked to the park and around a small circle for the first time since the operation. Did the walk in 40 mins - usually takes me 20 - and I just concentrated on trying to make the gait as normal as possible. Hobbling around over the weekend took it out of the knee and made the foot pretty fatigued.  Getting around on the cycle now - shopping, visiting folk, getting to the beach.  The biggest thing at the moment is the sensation I get underneath the MTP joint. It feels like I'm stepping on a big wadge of something. I'm guessing this will be swelling. It probably takes around 6 weeks for bones to start to be healed. I had an osteotomy and a screw in there, so it's probably this not settled yet, and...

Today I got a letter from my consultant podiatric surgeon confirming my "uneventful recovery" from a right-sided 1st MTP joint cheilectomy with proximal phalangectomy, and conditionally discharging me. To celebrate, I've ordered a new pair of shoes. I've been going through my shoe wardrobe and reluctantly realising that my days in my lovely leather soled Loakes, Brogues and Chelsea boots are probably long-gone. In reality I haven't been able to wear any of them since I had the accident on my foot three years ago (bar the recent funeral of a dear friend - and then I had to send the mourners on while I hobbled my way from the church to the wake in my brogues).  Maybe one day, I'll be able to wear them for special occasions. Meanwhile, a different approach is needed. A sturdy sole, supportive and cushioned - and some modifications to the flat leather soles I've been used to. I've decided (rather reluctantly) to invest in a pair of rocker-soled sports shoe...

It's the 3 week mark and it's been a busy weekend - well, it's all relative. I've been able to get on a bike - lowering the saddle so I can easily put my foot down. It's been more a case of rolling along at walking pace than actually 'cycling' - the foot feels too fragile to go straight off out of the traps onto the road in case of any sudden mishaps that could mean mucking up the osteotomy before it's healed.  On healing, the incision wound is finally sealing up and looking less angry. Still haven't gone swimming - still looks like it needs a little more time to scar properly before risking the water (submerging the skin, risk of tearing, and infection from sea water). Hope that changes this coming week. I can't feel the top of the toe near the incision at all - it's numb. Hoping that changes.  Doing the exercises as directed - push and pull until it's uncomfortable twice a day for 5 minutes. I was able to walk the dog to the park and ba...

Been to the beach last night and this afternoon, aided by a short car ride (someone else driving) and a short walk along the boardwalk to the sea. Decided against swimming just yet as the incision wound still isn't quite fixed. It looks a bit red and nasty in places and is still oozing a little, so I don't want to risk infection or soaking it too long.  Talking of which, when I shower, afterwards the foot looks nasty. It gets red and purple and puffy. It does settle down quite quickly and I've read in other blogs that some people experience this. I'll reduce the time and temperature of showers as much as possible. And afterwards, I elevate the leg and ice. Still, gonna keep an eye on that.  I've also noticed the skin is pretty scaly on this foot - possibly due to wearing compression sock for a period of time during the hottest temperatures on record (28 degrees at night) and an old tan coming off, as well as not walking, bathing and moisterising in my normal way.  T...

Spending a LOT of time reading other people's blogs and alternately making myself a) optimistic that the pain, flexion and swelling is NORMAL, and b) getting completely freaked out that it's all going to pot! So probably best just to STOP reading other people's stuff for a while and concentrate on getting back to normal. But what does 'normal' look like? Well, for me, it would be walking 5-7 miles a day, being able to swim in the sea and ride a bike and get out and do stuff. None of that is possible right now, so it looks and feels like I'm a very long way from being 'normal' again. However, I am doing more than I was two weeks ago. I am able to shower, dress, get downstairs, make my own meals, hobble the dog down the street and back, do my gentle toe bending exercises, be pain free (apart from when I'm stretching and walking on the toe) and I was even able to go down to the corner shop and back yesterday. And I went for a little walk while a friend ...

Still resting and icing and elevating. And the area of the surgery is still stiff, swollen and sore. But that's to be expected. I've been reading lots of blogs and other literature on the recovery to see if I can track my recovery. There are variables obviously - age, fitness, healing propensity, type of surgery and so forth - but it's really helpful (and often reassuring) to track your recovery along side similar experiences of folk who have had the same procedures.  My go-to's are these: https://jemesouviens2004.com/2016/06/ https://cheilectomy-surgery-experience.northwoodswebdesigns.com/ https://cheilectomyexperience.blogspot.com/2013/07/table-of-contents-full-history.html?m=1 I've started doing my physio stretches as directed - 2 times a day for 5 minutes each session. There's really not much flex there at the moment (it IS quite swollen) and reading the other blogs, that seems to be fairly standard at this point, just over 2 weeks post-op. The dorsal flex (...

Had a walk-in shower today. Hoorah! Then did the first of the exercises - pushing the toe back and forth. Had to put a dressing on the wound because it's still weeping, and then got a lift out to sit on a bench and watch the view while a mate walked the dog.  I guess I had worked myself up to the milestone that was yesterday, without much thought as to what comes next. So in my mind I was going to be doing a 5K walk already and just getting back to normal. Boy, how wrong was I. Once I had got round the fact that it's going to be AT LEAST another 2-3 weeks before I can hope to even get to walking far, and that this is NORMAL, I reset my expectations and got over my disappointment.  Right now I feel more sore and more vulnerable when I'm walking than I have been the last few days scooting around in my surgical shoe. But that's NORMAL. The consultant encouraged me to start to walk around gently on the foot, that it will be sore at first, and I should be realistic in my exp...

Finally, it's the day of the post-op hospital visit. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic (and other stuff), all these types of procedures are being done in a suite at a small private hospital near the airport, so it's a 70 mile round trip from where I live (even though usually I'd go a few minutes down the road to the County hospital in my town). So needed have someone drive me. Meanwhile I tested out what shoes I'd take to replace the surgical shoe. Once at the hospital I had a couple of x-rays (which required me to weightbear on the foot). The screw I had inserted is clearly visible on the pics, still not quite sure what its purpose is! The one above shows the diminished space between the MTP joint where the cartilage is missing. All looks good according to my podiatry surgeon (Dr James Alvey). The incision wound is still a bit weepy - it's been in the compression bandage a couple of very hot weeks - so it really needs exposure to air now to finish off healing. So no...

 Lots of mobility now - whizzing around doing everything for myself, except shopping and walking the dog. Can walk ok in the surgical shoe and do stuff like preparing meals and washing up, getting up and down stairs, walking to the car. Still icing the foot just to ward off any swelling, wiggling the toe and stretching it. Sometimes, without warning it has a sudden ache - similar but not as intense to the pain I'd experience often before surgery.  Went out to the local tea rooms for a couple of hours with the Sunday papers, so feeling a little more normal.  Looking forward to tomorrow when I have my post-op appointment back at the hospital, and to losing the surgical shoe and the bulky bandages. 

Managed to hobble to the park for a bit using a mate's crutches. Surprised I didn't get issued crutches when I was discharged. They would have come in handy. Maybe they don't issue them because they'd encourage being on the feet too much when you should be resting. No pain, and no swelling after my park jaunt - though I did ice it just to be sure.  Worse problem now seems to be getting cramp in the middle of the night. And the toe is still pretty active when I'm sleeping - doing lots of involuntary stretches!

I went out last night! Whoa! OK so it was just a 2 minute drive to the local park to sit on a bench while a friend walked the dog, but it was amazing to be out. Made it feel like a bit of a milestone. Last night was the most restless the foot as been. I kept being woken up with the toe going through full stretching. It felt pretty tired and achy this morning, but more mobile than it has been. Icing it this morning and taking a paracetamol for any swelling.  The area around the incision is lively in the evening now, and I can feel it more. Not pain, just healing I guess. Can't wait to get the bandage off. I've seen some posts where folk have had the dressing removed/replaced a few days after surgery, but my discharge notes clearly state NOT to disturb the dressing or bandage until the follow-up appointment 10-14 days after surgery (14 days for me). In fact, I watched a good video on how to do the type of bandage I have (linked to here Meyerson's Wrap  technique), and it does...

Woke up in the middle of the night with cramp in the calf muscle of the leg where I've had the surgery. Not bad, but certainly an indication of the lack of walking/stretching over the last week and a half. It didn't last, and I went back to sleep. But when I woke up this morning, the toe felt like I'd run a marathon. I think I recall as I was disturbed in my sleep, that the foot was pretty restless and I reckon I'd been doing quite a few involuntary stretches through the course of the night. This 'restlessness' seems to be a burgeoning feature: from the incision site 'waking up', getting a little itchy (a good sign of wound healing), and the toe becoming quite wriggly - feeling the need to stretch it and move it (a good sign of bone healing?) I didn't have any ibuprofen during the day yesterday, but I did end up taking some before bed, as the foot felt like it needed something - like there was a kind of bone ache. Today, so far, I've not taken an...