“When can I put weight on my foot after bunion surgery?”
I am a 35 year old male. I want to know when can I put weight on my foot after bunion surgery?
15 Answers
That is a question for your surgeon
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Can I walk on it immediately after surgery? We advise people to stay off their foot for two or three days with limited weight bearing. A surgical walking boot is utilized for a period of six weeks to protect the area and allow it to heal properly.
The answers is it depends on the bunion surgery you are having, please address this with your surgeon. In my office, a minimal invasive approach is used, meaning surgery is done in the office, under only local anesthesia, no hardware is used, and patients walk out of the office on the same day in a walking boot or shoe. A full recovery back to normal life is approx. six weeks.
If I use hardware for my bunion surgery, I have patients walking right away with a post-op shoe.
Depends on the bunion surgery. If it is a surgery done at the head (near the big toe) then right after surgery or 2 weeks after surgery usually can walk. If it is a Lapidus (joint in the arch area) then that is usually 2-4 weeks no weight on the foot so it heals well.
After the bunionectomy is performed your surgeon will stabilize the union with rigid fixation. I will test the integrity of my fixation on the surgical table to insure it is stable. Under these circumstance I will allow limited weight bearing during the first week. Each visit I will re-assess and allow more time on the surgical foot.
Most of the time you can walk after your bunion procedures, but there are certain fusion type procedures that may need you to remain of your foot for a period of time. This question should be asked of your surgeon.
Your surgeon should be answering that question, as we all have different protocols for surgery, and there are also different types of bunion surgery, all with different healing times and restrictions with weight bearing (WB). But physiologically speaking, a traditional bunionectomy (An "Austin" or head procedure) takes 6 weeks to fully heal. A more simple bunionectomy (a "Silver" bunionectomy, where they just remove the 'bump') will be healed when the skin healed (2.5-3 wks). Finally, a more complex bunion that requires the fusion of bones (A Lapidus Bunionectomy) will take around 12 weeks to heal. Each of these has different time constraints for bearing weight, and this will largely be determined by the surgeon who performs your surgery.
Weight bearing after surgery will be determined by what procedure was performed. I recommend you discuss this with your foot and ankle surgeon (podiatrist)
Hello,
It depends on the type of bunionectomy that is performed. Some procedures require no weight bearing for 6-8 weeks and others you can ambulate immediately after surgery. It depends on the severity of your bunion deformity.
Dr. Lui
It depends on the type of bunionectomy that is performed. Some procedures require no weight bearing for 6-8 weeks and others you can ambulate immediately after surgery. It depends on the severity of your bunion deformity.
Dr. Lui
I have patients walk in a cam boot or just a small sandal/post-op shoe right after bunion surgery, depending on which bunion procedure I do, and patients do very well. This will progress if left untreated.
There are many different procedures for repair of bunion surgeries depending on the severity of the deformity and the extent of the surgery. Your surgeon is best to advise you on post-operative care as he knows what was done and your specific medical condition.
It depends on the type of bunion surgery and surgeon preference with fixation. Typically, bunions corrected at the head of the bone are allowed to partial weight bear versus base procedures which typically are not allowed.
Ahmad Farah, DPM
Ahmad Farah, DPM
ALL DEPENDS ON EACH PERSON BUT, AT LEAST, ONE WEEK
It depends on the type of bunion procedure and your surgeon's preferences. Could be 3-6 weeks.
