Monday 6 October 2014

Update - 2 years on

2 years later and I am still so happy I took the plunge to have the operation. Like I said in one of my comments, I did develop an infection after a few weeks (my toes looked like they had a little greenish gunk between them). All it took was some antibiotics and it cleared up.

I have remembered some little bits of information which may be useful. I was told (as in by a doctor so please do not do this unless you consult your doc!) to wash my feet in watered down Dettol (a disinfectant) to help them heal. When replacing the gauze, it is important to get all the way down to the bottom of the cut. Unfortunately for me, partially because of the infection, partially because I was worried about tearing the graft, I don't think I managed to get the gauze all the way down. For someone who is having this surgery, I would recommend you quiz your Doctor on how rough you can be to get the gauze all the way down the cut. This does mean that my toes have healed a little higher than was cut, with my left being a bit higher than my right. It doesn't really bother me though as unless you stare up close, its not too noticeable. Not a single person has asked me about my toes. The only people who know that I had the op are people who knew about them to begin with; and anyone else is oblivious. To be honest, people look at my graft scars more and occasionally ask what happened, but even those look like bruises at a fleeting glance. I expect they will probably just continue to heal even further as I get older. You can faintly see the scars on my toes, but I think they just add to depth perception.

Here are my updated pictures 2 years post op:

My view:


Other peoples view:


Right foot:

Left foot:

Left graft close up:

Right graft close up:

21 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your story. I just had my left foot done on October 2nd. My right will be done in 6 weeks. I am still in pain but it's not intolerable. I think any cosmetic surgery is worth you feeling good about yourself no matter how big or little. I was also told how cute they were and no one cared but me but i never ever got used to it and i hated explaining....i can't wait till i can buy shoes with confidence and not be ashamed to have my first foot massage!

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  2. i forgot one question.... do you have 100% feeling in your toes? mine feel numb and i know that is normal but I'm worried about it being a weird feeling forever.

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    1. Hi, the pain will definitely subside soon. Would they not do both at once or did you opt to have them done separately? I remember mine feeling weird at first but it definitely went for me. I was told depending on how the nerves and graft healed would depend on how much feeling I got back, but I seem to have full feeling in them. They are maybe a little but more sensitive over the graft sites than my other toes but day to day I really don't notice.

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  3. Hi, thanks for sharing story and pics. I have just had my op (at 35) can you tell me when your pain stopped and how long it was before you could walk again? Many thanks

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  4. Hi, I have read your story many times over the past year or so and was inspired and am now 2 weeks into recovery, having both feet done and graft from groin area. I am very happy to see you updated your story and am even more happy to see that our experiences are similar. I can now get my feet wet so am wondering at what point you bathed your feet in detail? Thanks for sharing, there really isn't any decent information out there!

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  5. I used diluted dettol on my toes last night and it has stripped the skin off! The skin on the grafts is red raw, I think I might need to see my doctor. I can't believe this has happened... If you happen to read this and can give any advice please do!?

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    1. Sorry to take over the thread but I thought I should update. Lee I did go to the Dr. who was disappointed I used dettol without consulting him. It has been 4 days, my toes peeled badly for 2 days before starting to settle on the 3rd day. The graft was totally raw and I went from virtually no pain and almost walking normally to great pain and again elevating my feet. Massive set back, on day 4 there are visible signs of healing while still very red and it's really quite horrible. Don't do anything your Dr. doesn't recommend to you.. Gutted.

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    2. Hi, sorry I didn't get back to you in time. How are your toes doing? I've changed the blog a bit to clarify it was the doctor who told me to use dettol. How are you doing now? Still a success story?

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    3. Hey Separated toes! How are you doing now? Recovering well?

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  6. Go see your doctor immediately

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  7. hello i just did that Op on June 18th, right now its day 20 and it has been a long wait, i barely can walk it hurts a lot even if i took the medicine. i have one toe skin graft very red and my DR says its okey but i saw like a burn skin.

    my question is in how many days you started walking with out pain and no wound at all?

    please let me know i´m really stressed right now.

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    1. Hey,how you getting on now? I see you had your operation 2 weeks before me. Are you on any medication now or just going it alone?

      Look forward to hearing back from you! Liam

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  8. Hi,

    I'm a 30 yr old Male who has wanted my toes separated for as long as i can remember!

    I just had the operation on 4th July 2015. I had my two middle toes separated on both feet and i'm currently in my 3rd week of recovery. I have 4 more weeks to go till I restart work and I really hope they are healed well by then as I work as a PE teacher so i'm on my feet all day!!

    I was in a wheel chair for around 10 days for ease of getting about. After that I got about on my feet ok with bandages. After 2.5 weeks all bandages etc are off and it feels like i have taken 6 steps backwards as there is nothing protecting them while they still heal. so struggling to get about again now...

    How long do u think it will take me to be able to run and swim etc? Any advice would be great. My doctor said that by another 4 weeks I should be fine. What do u guys think?

    I've really enjoyed reading the comments, it gave me that extra bit of courage to have the surgery.

    PS - I had small blisters appear on my finger tip shortly after my operation - they are now turning brown. did anyone else experience this? My surgeon doesn't know what it could be. Possible side effect from the op/medication.

    Be grateful to any answers in regard to my queries or if anyone has any questions for me I would be happy to answer.

    Liam

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    1. Hello Liam right now Im totally recovered on only 1 foot because my other foot are not totally healed because the skin graft is not healing very well but im on it. my Dr told me i will be recovered on 2 more weeks.

      right now no medication and i can walk with precaution, drive etc.

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    2. Hi, thanks for replying.

      Good to hear your recovering well and your able to walk about and drive. I cant wait till then!

      Did you feel as if you took a step backwards once all the bandages were removed? I have, that was yesterday and now i feel as if i'm starting to walk all over again.

      Have you started to apply any scar treatment? I have some but don't think the wounds are healed enough to do so. Its all a bit gruesome at the mo when cleaning, so waiting a while.

      Out of curiosity how do they look, you happy? I'm happy to share my photos of before & now. Drop me an email on Liamsamuel@hotmail.com

      Where did you have your skin graft?

      Sorry for bombarding you with questions - never spoke with anyone who has gone through it before nor had the experience of having webbed toes!

      Thanks! Liam :)

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  9. Get well soon. This is really very much harsh and painful surgery and need much time to get recover to health.


    Foot Surgery Northwest Indiana

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  10. Podiatrist Crown Point
    says that your feet need to get rest as much as you can give them. Don’t keep on putting pressure on them all the time.

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  11. Hi everyone,I'm Oz,first, sorry for my bad English, I'm Mexican. This is my story, I had the second and third webbed toes of the right foot for only skin, no nails twins. When I was a baby the doctors cut me halfway, without the right technique, then when I was 15 almost 16 years, an orthopedist operated me with a zig zag technique, the surgery was fine but I had the same problem of butterflyspirit18 what it is I don't got the gauze to the deep of the cut, so the skin reattached just the top side, I was disappointed but after the years I'm not bothered. But the second toe doesn't stretch well because it was attached. So I'm 21 right now and the March 16 was my surgery with a plastic surgeon, he grabbed graft from my groin or crotch, I'm still with bandage until Monday 28, they will remove me the stitches that day, the post op is cool, no pain like the post op from my 15 years, I feel spams or tingling sensation I don't know how to say, it's normal? I can't remember from the last time. How many days of full recovery you had? I mean in how many weeks you walked? I'm glad for yours success surgery, and happy to know I'm not the only one, do you used some kind of medicine for scars? Any recommendation, I'm really can't remember how was the last time haha, and again sorry for the bad English.

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  12. I just had the surgery a week and a half ago. My doctor had to use a skin graft after all. To me, my toes still looked webbed because of the skin graft. Did you experience a lot of swelling under your skin grafts? I'm hoping the skin will retract down some.

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  13. Has anyone used a NYC surgeon they can recommend for this surgery? Thanks.

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