Post #7 - 25th Nov - Day 15 - stitches out! - WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT OF POST SURGERY

An overnight stop in Lancaster and a morning of driving, saw us back in Daventry to see Ian Reilly (https://podsurgeon.co.uk/) to have the stitches out of both surgeries (Bunion & Haglund's deformity)

With great anticipation the first dressing was removed (I'd dreamt of this moment!). First up was the bunion and for the first time I could see the difference. As this image shows the difference between pre and post op was clear.

Foot was clearly still a little swollen at the forefoot but to be expected. Really happy with the straightness though. I can now bear some weight on it, but not to role through the foot; heel or flat of foot only as this helps to avoid putting unnecessary stress on the joint and ultimately reduces chances of movement back inwards.

Admittedly the side of the foot does look horrendous (this was just before the stitches came out) and certainly looks worse than it it. Ian was very pleased with how it looked, so that was reassuring (despite its appearance). Some bleeding had occurred but only a little.

Onto the Haglund's deformity. Ian was really pleased with this, which is funny as I thought it looked horrendous.

The overlapping skin looks bad but is useful to ensure some elasticity of the skin as it quite a mobile joint. Ian particularly was happy with the low levels of inflammation here as ultimately this will be the longest to 'heel' and so very encouraging when it looked even

better than the bunion.

The dressing was then reapplied but this time with compression, the theory being the foot was as inflamed as it would get, and so compression is a useful friend to reduce the inflammation further.

Tis' a long way to come for a 15 minute dressing change, but getting Ian's experts insights at this early stage will ultimately pay dividends in the future in terms of a return to activity. Back down again in 2.5 weeks. Until then I can bear weight on the heel or flat foot with aid of crutches and a surgical shoe, which is inflexible. So far things are going well.

It was then a long drive back home with Katie (30 weeks pregnant) at the wheel. We took numerous breaks, including a xmas addition costa just to make sure she got a walk! 9 hrs 30mins for the day, which was quite a shift. From this drive we can't imagine how busy England must be when its not in lockdown 2.0, as there was so much traffic !