All you need to know about
Hallux valgus
As a patient, your number one priority is to completely understand the steps in your surgery.
You are the principal actor of your surgery
You will be the only one present from the beginning to the end of the care process, from A to Z and beyond. In other words, you need to be part of the project. To help you feel an integral part of the surgical team, it is important that you are well informed and know how to communicate with your caregivers.
What is hallux valgus?
It is a deformity of the big toe, the hallux, at the metatarsophalangeal joint.
What does surgery involve?
Hallux valgus surgery aims to straighten the big toe through a combination of bone surgery (osteotomy of the metatarsal and first phalanx) and ligament realignment.
If the progression of the disease has led to complications on the rest of the foot (metatarsalgia or claw toes), other surgical procedures are associated with the correction of the hallux, making the postoperative period longer and more difficult. This is one of the reasons why you should not wait too long before considering surgery.
Also, the longer you wait, the more serious the deformity becomes and the more difficult it is to correct. The postoperative result is sometimes less durable and there is a risk of recurrence over time.
The operation can take from 25 minutes for a simple hallux valgus to 1 hour for a more severe hallux valgus requiring additional surgery. The material used to stabilise the correction consists of screws and sometimes small implants for the toe claws. This material is designed to stay in place, but can be removed if it becomes uncomfortable.
Is there a better time of year to have an operation?
The hot summer months are less favourable because the oedema is less easily absorbed and the post-operative period is more difficult. However, if you live in a cool area, it is still possible to have the operation in the summer. The rest of the year the climate is favourable.
Can both feet be operated on at the same time?
In more than 80% of cases, hallux valgus affects both feet, usually asymmetrically. The long-term results of unilateral and bilateral surgery are exactly the same.
Hallux valgus surgery can be painful and make it difficult to move around, especially in the first few weeks.
Operating with both feet at the same time limits your autonomy considerably. It is therefore preferable not to operate on both sides at the same time.
However, if you cannot postpone the second operation, mainly for professional reasons, an interesting compromise is to separate the two operations by two or three weeks. This is the time needed to get over the difficult phase with the first side.
Is hallux valgus surgery painful?
Your comfort is our constant concern. Every surgical procedure needs preventive and systematic pain management. Our prescriptions are based on experience gained from treating tens of thousands of patients. This has enabled us to develop highly effective protocols.
We are not all the same when it comes to feeling pain, and the medical-surgical team takes this into consideration. Initial administration is often intravenous, followed by extended oral administration over several weeks.
The key is to treat the pain as soon as it occurs, rather than letting it go away or trying to avoid it at all costs.
Talk to your anaesthetist about your fears during the anaesthetic consultation and he or she will explain how to prevent pain.
Will I be able to wear all the shoes?
Certainly, the friction in the shoe should disappear after the operation. However, in order to prevent recurrence, it is not advisable to wear shoes that are very narrow at the toe, as this will contribute to the incorrect positioning of the big toe.
As for heels, it is not recommended to wear very high heels (more than 8 cm) as this puts the entire weight of the body on the forefoot. After arthrodesis, the height of the heel is limited to about 4 cm because of the blockage in the joint.
This advice applies to everyone, not just you who has had surgery. Although there may be exceptions for special occasions (a wedding, a meeting, etc.), this attitude should become a lifestyle. Discomfort can spoil these important moments, so don’t let the exception be the rule.
