Finally! Before and After X-Ray's - Hallux Valgus Surgery

Okay fellow weirdos! I've finally put together the films from the bilateral hallux valgus repair with proximal metatarsal osteotomy. Let's break that down:
Bilateral - two sides
Hallux - the big toe
Valgus - a genus of beetles. but also, a displacement of a limb AWAY from the midline of the body. The opposite of valgus is varus.
Proximal - close to the end, or close to an attachment in a structure (in this case, a bone)
Metatarsal - feet bones!
Osteotomy - cutting of a bone (osteo = relating to bones, -tomy = chopchopchop?)

So, when you put that together, bilateral means both feet, hallux valgus refers to a displacement of the first toe, proximal metarsal osteotomy refers to cutting the end of a foot bone.


BEFORE: April 15th 2009 - Ew, look at those joints! If you follow the bones up to the ankle they look all squashed up.


1 DAY POST SURGERY - November 24th 2009 - These incredibly painful to take. Now, the x-ray rooms at Scarborough Grace are AWESOME. The whole machine moves on tracks that go up, down, and across the ceiling so I really didn't have to do anything. However, just having my chopped up feet attached to my body was so painful that the little movement required to get the different angles was...less than pleasant. At the time I thought this was a normal amount of pain, but when I think back...OW


17 DAYS POST SURGERY - December 10th 2009 - I cried over these casts/dressings. There was this stupid hard part that kept rubbing against the incisions, and they were so itchy and it was terribly frustrating not to be able to use either of your feet. Plus, as the swelling came down they became looser which just exacerbated the influx of obsessions and compulsions that come with general discomfort, frustration, and pain.

5 WEEKS POST SURGERY - December 30th 2009 - Ah, the fateful day it was decided that my left foot needed a revision. This is also the same day that they discovered the pin had poked out through MY FLESH. (It didn't hurt at all though, isn't that nice?) I was in an exponentially better mood because the dreaded dressings were coming off, (oh, freedom to scratch carefully!) I could peel off that dead skin and rub in some good ol' fashioned vaseline along with the antibiotic for my poor, dried up feet, and I was still on a Boxing Day high.

Coming up next in the adventure:
The revision of my left foot repair on April 19th, 2010. Thankfully scheduled on the last week of first semester so that I could write my exams early, then just sleep through the pain for two weeks without missing out on class. (Of course, I then get to find my way through a percocet haze to pay attention in physics, chemistry II, math II, and anatomy & physiology. Fun.)