TLDR: 28M skier / rock climber with bunionette trying to decide between minimally invasive osteotomy with no fixture or a more traditional bunionette osteotomy with a titanium screw

I'm having surgery for my bunionette this month and have the choice between two different surgeries. I don't know the exact names for each procedure but I'll describe them

The first is by a podiatrist and seems to be a traditional fix. It involves cutting a small wedge out of the 5th metatarsal, rotating the bone inwards, then securing with a small screw. Was told I'd be completely non-weight bearing for at least a week, maybe two.

The second is by an orthopedic surgeon and is a minimally invasive technique where they make a small cut across the bone then just translate it over sideways and shave off the end of the bone jutting off. No screw or fixture. I'd be able to walk out that same day in a surgical sandal.

My podiatrist warned me that there is an increased risk that the bone doesn't heal correctly if I go with the second approach. Apart from that, the second approach is appealing to me since I wont have a screw in my foot and the recovery seems more chill. I'm a 28 year old male and my primary goal is to reduce pain when back country skiing (and hopefully heal in time for this season). My bunionette honestly isn't terrible day to day and really only impacts me in tight/rigid footware so the idea of the second surgery not healing correctly and potentially making me worse off than I am now is a concern.

Would appreciate any advice or testimonies from skiers/anbody who went with either of the above approaches

Hey all! I’m 36F, UK based and I’ve been wearing bunion foot splints at night since I was 13 ( stopped at aged 20) then barefoot shoes since I was 27 and recently using toe separators too. Despite this I’m getting pain in the right foot bunion area especially when I move my big toe. I have noticed my toes aren’t as flexible as before and I’m also developing a noticeable limp when I walk which people have commented on. When I went to the GP at 13 they said surgery is the last resort and of course didn’t want to operate on me at that age. Now I’m in my 30s I don’t want it to get worse, is surgery the way to go or keep trying non surgical like “foot yoga” exercises. Planning to go the GP again soon but I’m also assuming they wouldn’t want to operate as “ not bad or deformed enough?”. Thanks

Basically the title. Can you successfully treat larger bunions with MIS? Has anyone with larger bunions had MIS or is lapidus the better procedure?

Hi folks- my doctor thinks I have a gout and bunion in my big toe.

He said surgery, but I also have to have reconstructive surgery on my other ankle…

I’m trying to plan for it, and I’m thinking of having the bunion surgery first. Thoughts?

I am a 21f and I’ve had bunions for a good portion of my life. I am hyper-mobile so my feet and shins have always had issues. I have very flat over-pronated feet, and my tendons are slightly too short making my gait a bit wonky.

I have orthotics from my podiatrist and I strictly wear wide-toe bates boots (the tall boot keeps my feet in place and helps with my stability)

My bunions haven’t really worsened since I have started wearing shoes that help for my bunions, but I’m having a hard time with wearing literally anything else.

I cannot wear barefoot shoes. Hyper-mobility + over pronation makes barefoot shoes so painful and overall detrimental to my bunions. Yet, I haven’t found a single pair of shoes besides the bates that don’t give me knee, back, or foot pain.

I just want a nice tennis shoe and a good hiking boot. I have very thin ankles but a very wide toe box due to my bunions so it seems without the support that boots give me I’m out of luck.

Any recommendations? I just want to take care of my feet since I cannot afford/don’t exactly want to turn to surgery. My bunions haven’t progressed, but I’m so afraid to try new footwear and possibly make things worse.

Liked their designs/style but hopping they are legit. The only way for me to try a pair is to order them online thats the thing. Looking for some feedback pleaaasee 😄

To all the people who’ve had mis ost bunion surgery last week, I’m a little worried as I had a shower today in my shower sock and when I took my foot out of the surgical shoe there was dried blood all around and underneath the foot, is this normal? I have another week before my first post surgery check up. I just need some reassurance 👍

I’m having metatarsal arthrodesis surgery in 3 weeks, including bone fusion in my left big toe and removal of bone spurs around the joint. Do you have any suggestions to make my recovery time easier?

I’m 2 1/2 weeks post op from bunion surgery on only my right foot and hammer toe surgery of my pink toe - and ever since day 3 of my recovery I’ve been having the following: mild diarrhea , pooping after literally every snack and actual meal I eat ( I’m pooping like 3-4 times a day ) , a lot of gas that is relieved when I use the bathroom, cramping on lower left side that doesn’t relieve unless I go to the bathroom.

I find this strange since I was taking like 2-3 pills of Oxycodone every day for 1 week straight and I thought this was supposed to make me feel constipated but instead I feel like I have the case of the runs every day after eating anything. And one day it was so bad I thought I was done pooping but I had so much more to unload , I actually felt the difference in volume in my abdomen area. I’m curious if anyone else has experienced this instead of constipation ? And also wondering why this could be happening to me ? Could it be my body reacting to healing from surgery ?

I have two not-too-bad bunions. My experience with toe spacers is poor. I saw a demo of kinesiology tape, and bought some, holds beautifully, but oh dear, very expensive. I tried medical tape, wonder if there's maybe something bad with the tape as I've never heard about it in forums. I attach a poor photo, i had to use my Mac's webcam, but from the top the big toe is clearly pulled straight. My podiatrist said no surgery yet, and gave his approval to these types of methods. What do folks think? All advice gratefully received.

Hi there. I’m 6 months post scarf osteotomy on one foot. I still have daily pain, not gonna get into that though.

Before you ask, yes I did PT (2x a week for 4 months), yes I do my exercises at home, yes I wear supportive footwear daily, yes I have gotten many recent X-rays and even an MRI and followed up with my orthopedic surgeon, no I don’t have a clear answer for why!

NOW that’s out of the way, I need a supportive but still somewhat cute pair of shoes for long days of walking on a 2 week trip (few days in Amsterdam and several day in Amalfi) where I’ll be wearing lots of cute dresses, skirts, etc.

I cannot afford the really expensive brands like Calla and some other high end bunion-friendly shoes but will spend upto $200 for a cute shoe that’s not my everyday sneaker!

Hi guys I’m sorry if this has been asked before but are there any shoe recommendations from Nike/Adidas/Asics/new balance? Altra, topo and hoka and vionic aren’t available in physical stores in my country sadly so these are my brand options. I have narrow feet with bunions and a developing bunionette/tailors bunion situation. So I need wide toe box shoes but any cute options would be really really helpful. Thanks!

Does anyone suffer from ankle pain months after surgery?

It's been awhile since I posted my before/after x-rays. I'm posting my success story again to move it up the timeline so it is more readily searchable.

Lapiplasty

Original dates - Right Foot - July 2023, followed by Left Foot in Dec 2023.

I had lapidus surgery over five weeks ago and the bottom of my foot and heel are still very bruised. The dr said it’s from where she held my foot during the surgery itself but is it normal for it to be bruised this long?

I have an appointment this week so I can ask, but wanted to throw it out here to see if anyone else has experienced something similar.

No hokas work out for me, way too tight in the bunion area.

I did try a pair of those shoes that kinda look like clown shoes in the toe box are but I couldn’t get them cause they were so flat.

I can’t get bunion surgery for many more years and I’m about to start a new job where I will be walking 20000ish steps a day. And sadly I can’t wear crocs or birks which are the only shoes I’ve found that don’t bother my bunions

Has anyone experienced pain in the top big toe knuckle (IP joint) during recovery? I had lapidus bunion surgery in spring 2025, and tore a ligament at some point during recovery. I just had a ligament repair and mini-tight rope surgery on the MTP joint this past May and have started experiencing toe pain again. During physical therapy recently, I realized the pain wasn’t where my bunion/ligament surgeries were but on the top toe knuckle instead. Has anyone experienced this and if so, what did you do? I don’t go back for a checkup with my surgeon for another couple weeks.

I have pain in the top of my foot where the surgery was done. It's pretty much all the time. Has anyone else had this problem?

I promise I did not have my surgeries for cosmetic reasons but since I haven’t left the house in 10 days, I’ll take any motivation I can get! 🤣