Bunionectomy Surgery Information And Explanation

Of all the available information on bunionectomy surgery out there today most of the thing to tackles down clearly is the fact that our bodies are very unique vessels that scientists still don't fully understand. There are questions that sometimes we find ourselves still asking, for instance, why do we have to get sick, why do we have allergies, and why isn't there a cure for these medical issues. As there are no cures for these annoying situations, there is some relief that we can find in the medical field for other situations; situations that cause us extreme pain. For those who suffer from the pain of bunions, there is relief that can be found in a surgical procedure called a bunionectomy surgery.

If you're unfamiliar with the term, or have never experienced one yourself, bunions have the potential to cause a person a great amount of pain if they become too big. A bunion is a growth of soft tissue and of bone around the joint of the base of the big toe. Sometimes this growth can be small and noticeable, never causing the person pain, while other times the growth can make wearing shoes complicated, and walking very painful. This area of the foot will cause pain due to an inflammation and irritation of the tissue, and it will only get worse with poorly fitting shoes. What scientists are finding with bunions is that 85% of women are affected with bunions, and close to 55% of them are caused severe pain by them. The reason scientists and doctors believe that women are so highly at risk of suffering from bunions is due to their wearing of tight fitting shoes. Sometimes these shoes are known to push the big toe inwards towards the other toes. In doing this, it can not only cause a deformity of the big toe and some measure of pain, but if not corrected, it could cause a deformity throughout the foot. Another cause of this growth, scientists are finding, is that it could be genetic.

 Some Of Procedure Taken Before Bunionectomy Surgery

When a bunion is discovered, and it's causing the person a great deal of pain, making walking not only uncomfortable, but nearly impossible, then there can be some helpful relief measures that can be taken at home. One of the first things to do is immediately take pressure off of the foot by elevating it. By relieving the pressure from the foot, the blood flow can be equalized to a pressure that won't cause the area too much pain. Wear soft slipper instead of wearing tight forming shoes, this way when you do walk, it won't be as painful. Soak your foot in warm water to help with the blood flow of the area, this will help to keep the inflammation of the area at a minimum. These are of the necessary steps that a surgeon will ask their patient to take before they come in for their surgery.

When patients attend the bunionectomy surgery, the surgeon will ask their patient to generally show up a few hours before hand. Each surgery that is performed is solely based upon the size and degree of deformity of the foot and bunion. The procedures that are performed are all named after each doctor that have created them, for now there are only three: McBricde, Chevron, and Keller. If the bunionectomy proves to be a minor surgery, then the anesthesia they will administer will be an ankle block, which means that everything in the ankle area and below will be numb and the patient will be awake. If they have to administer a spinal anesthesia, then this will suggest the the bunion and deformity is very severe, and the surgery will call for a few more evasive steps than normal.
Before the bunionectomy surgery is performed, surgeons will have already taken x-rays of the foot, and will have already come up with a plan of action in what procedure they will use in order to remove it. If the deformity is bad enough, the surgeon will have to remove the liquid filled sac that has formed, called a bursa, and the phalanx bone, a joint in the big toe, is then shortened in order to return the big toe to it's straight, normal form.

 Bunionectomy Surgery Procedure

During the bunionectomy surgery, the doctor will make an incision over the affected area and remove the large lump, or rather bunion. From there, they will decide if the big toe will need to be reposition or not. If so, then there will be more than one incision made to the toe area in order to do this successfully. In some cases, they may even need to cut the bone, which is more typical than not. There are severe enough cases when sometimes the deformity is so bad, that the need for inserting screws, wires and metal plates are called for. These situations are brought onto the scene when trying to straighten the bone means possibly taking the entire bone or taking a good portion of it. If these devices are used in order to help with the straightening of the bone, then they will be removed after a few weeks following the surgery, however, there are some cases where they must be left in. For other severe cases, a joint replacement is inserted in place of the joint they had to remove because it was so damaged. In much milder cases than this, doctors are simply able to tie back the ligaments and tendons together, holding the toe in a straight alignment.

After the procedure is finished, the patient must sit between 2 to 3 hours in the recovery room in order to allow for the anesthesia wear off. They also want to observe the area to see if the area will swell beyond its normal swelling. They also want to check for any infection or to see if the bandages are showing clear signs that they are holding and there's no excess bleeding to the area. Once the patient has shown clear signs that puts them in the clear and they can hold down food, then they're able to go home and rest.

The bunionectomy surgery recovery process for a procedure like this takes anywhere from six to eight weeks. Patients, during their first few weeks will be prescribed antibiotics for preventing infection and pain killers. Once the body shows no more sign of pain, then it is suggested to cease taking the pain killers. They will have to wear a boot that will help with walking around and keeping the area protected. There will be swelling to the area for a few weeks, this is normal, the only time that swelling should be a problem is if the calf area begins to swell. Some patients will take the help of a cane to help getting around, but it is a decision that is left up to the patient.