By 2 months post surgery, I was walking long distances. Barely any pain and swelling in my 1st MTP joints. Now at 3 months, I hardly think about my feet anymore. I am happy that I moved forward with my surgery.
In the larger studies I have read, most patients who are good candidates for a cheilectomy have positive results. Good candidate = still have a decent amount of cartilage in the joint. This is a well studied surgical procedure with a proven track record. If you are a good candidate for the procedure and suffering from a fair amount of pain, I think that this surgery is a no-brainer. Just make sure to vet and chose and a good surgeon.
On the question of doing a bilateral surgery: I am also happy that I did both feet and got it all over with at once. My doc said that he would make a rare exception for me, since my case was very clear-cut and I was obviously a good candidate for the procedure. If there are any doubts about whether or not this is a good procedure for you, probably best to do one foot first and let several months pass before you decide to move forward with the other.
Conclusion: Cheilectomy of MTP joints worked great for me.
My final words are very specific to my case and thus probably not relevant to most who would come across this blog. I had debridement done on the IP (interphalangeal) joints of my big toes as well (where I actually had the greatest amount of pain). According to my surgeon, this is much rarer, and I could not find any academic research on this procedure. Often when this joint presents problems, the bones are simply fused. These joints have been more problematic and slower to recover, quicker to swell up post surgery. They also lost quite a bit of mobility post surgery. Still, the pain and swelling in these joints is slowly disappearing, and I hope that in a few more months, I will no longer notice them, as I no longer notice the MTP joints where I had the cheilectomy.
Good luck to all those with upcoming surgeries! Michael
Thank you for the update, and especially your observation that those with negative results are the ones more likely to post about their experiences. The first of my two cheilectomies is happening in early October and I've become increasingly concerned about the procedure. Reading your update has alleviated some of my fears, especially since I have plenty of cartilage in my joints. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteAre you in NZ? You sound like you were pretty happy with your specialist - can I ask who you used?
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Thank you for posting about your experience! I feel like this is such a rare surgery (my physiotherapist had to look it up as they didn't know what it was), so it's nice to know I'm not alone. I'd love to hear how things have been going since your last update... I am four months post-surgery and while I've been told my range of motion is very good in both feet, I still get quite a bit of pain when walking/running - not so much in the actual joint, but in the ligaments in the bottoms of my feet, since they had been so used to not stretching as much. Did you continue to have pain that dwindled over time? Thanks again for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteHad a no bilateral collecting last Friday, 8 days ago. Almost no pain. Had to scott in my butt to the bathroom the first morning but that was it. Walking was awkward at first but now just inconvenient because of all the bandages so I am taking them off and bhai putting bandaid on the stitches which are due out next Thursday.
ReplyDeleteGoing to try regular shoes this afternoon which should make walking easier I hope.
Other than feeling like a worthless slough for 8 days pretty easy physical recovery at least for me. Hope this is helpful.
Lex