Foot surgery and recovery experiences

I had surgery to repair/remove the peroneal tendon in my right foot several years ago. I live alone, and have two floors. The two floors REALLY impacted my recovery. Both bathrooms, my bedroom, and my office are upstairs. No bathroom on the main floor. Recovery was BORING IME. A friend planned on spending that first night (or two or three) with me, but I was ok on my own so she stuck around after getting me home, and then went home at bedtime.

I was supposed to be *toes above my nose* as much as possible the first two weeks. Totally non-weight-bearing and on crutches/knee scooter for a total of 6 weeks. I was in PT for 7 full months.

Did your surgeon talk with you about what to expect afterwards? I asked for a virtual visit with an OT as well to make sure I was set. As far as work, I'm retired, so that was a non-issue. If you can work from bed with your foot elevated above your heart, work whenever you're up for it.

I was pretty well stuck upstairs for a while unless I wanted to shimmy downstairs on my butt. But once I was downstairs, my knee scooter was stuck upstairs, so I was on crutches downstairs. There's not a lot of cooking, cleaning, chores that are easy to do on crutches, so I had a housecleaner for several months. I mainly would go downstairs for a while for a simple change of scenery.

Food wise, I precooked individual meals beforehand and put them in the freezer. I bought a microwave and a small fridge and put them upstairs in my office. Essentially I did not cook for those 6 weeks. Friends came by a couple times a week to visit, take out the trash, bring the laundry up or down the stairs for me (I was able to actually wash it on my own), help me change the sheets on the bed, that sort of thing. Groceries were ordered to coincide with a friend visit so they could put them away for me.

Hopefully you have someone in the house who can help you out. Best of luck and keep us posted when you're bored during recovery!

PS, they only way in-out of my building is via stairs, so I left the house maybe 3x during those 6 weeks. A friend would have to take the knee scooter up and down the stairs outside my unit for me. I never felt very secure on the crutches.

ETA even more: Your insurance should cover the knee scooter rental provided that your surgeon orders it. Make sure they do. If your insurance won't cover it, do not buy a cheap once off Amazon. Rent one yourself from a medical supply place. They aren't expensive and the quality is MUCH better. Also, often times a medical supply place will deliver and pick up.

I did not anticipate how unsteady I would feel about being on crutches, but in particular getting in and out of my shower (it has a 3-4" lip). About a week into it I ended up buying a transfer chair and using the tub in the guest bath more often than my shower. ALSO, grab bars! The ones that suction to the tile of your bath/shower really do work

I think a lot depends on the type of foot surgery you’re having, and how extensive it is. Experiences vary greatly!

Mine was on the joint of my left big toe, and was due to arthritis and cartilage loss. I was in a walking shoe and I was up and moving within hours. I did not have to be non-weight-bearing, and I think that makes a huge difference. No crutches needed either. I was on pain pills for a while and spent time with my foot elevated, but I was able to get around and work very soon.

Very true! I had forgotten, 35 years ago I had surgery on both feet at the same time. If anyone is squeamish, don't scroll down.








They broke both of my little toes, filed some of the bone down, and reattached them. And I was awake and listened to all that, ugh.

The little toe on each foot had curled partially under my foot after 10 years of working on my feet in retail while wearing 3" (give or take)  fashion shoes that squeezed my toes together. And no, I don't wear super pointed toe shoes any more, I just don't enjoy pain like I did in the good old days .  Anyhow, recovery from that was much easier than what I posted above, and I was able to walk on my own (painfully) right away.

That said, I hope you find something useful in what I wrote above OP if you are on the more *not mobile* side of things!

I’m a pre-op/PACU nurse in outpatient ortho so I have extensive experience in educating patients for these types of surgeries.

Our patients generally get a nerve block for surgery, so the foot is numb for up to 24 hours and you absolutely can’t bear weight on it in that time. After it wears off and you get sensation back, weight bearing restrictions depend on the type of surgery you’re having. Keep it elevated “toes above the nose” as long and as much as possible, and keep the dressing clean and dry.

Since you work from home, you can probably return to work earlier than other patients but if you’re still taking narcotics to manage your pain then you should not work. Once you can only take Tylenol to manage your pain, then you can probably go back to work. Driving depends on which foot it is, if it’s your right foot then obviously no driving, if it’s your left then the narcotics rule applies. And keep up with your pain meds, use Tylenol first and if that isn’t enough then you can also use the narcotic even if it contains Tylenol (like Norco or Lortab or Lorcet) as long as you don’t take more than 4000mg in 24 hours. Don’t let your pain get out of control, it’s hard to catch up if your pain gets too great. If you’re allowed I proven use that too, alternate between Tylenol and Ibuprofen (alternate every 3 hours between te two) and then your narc for added relief.

Feel free to PM if you have more questions when the time comes!