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The response to the question below was authored by Marc Mitnick DPM

Weird knot after bunion/hammertoe surgery

by Teresa
(Austin, Tx.)

In March 2010 I had bunion removed and at same time Dr. fixed the toe next to it, it was a hammertoe. Eight months later (Nov.) there appears a super hard lump on bottom of foot directly under second toe(ex-hammertoe) that feels like a bone. I went back to surgeon and he looks all surprised like he had never seen this before. He makes orthotics that don't help at all. I clean houses for a living. This is unacceptable. My back got all messed up because I was walking on this foot sideways because of this knot which felt like walking on a pebble. My chiropractor said it was scar tissue. Is there any treatment I can do for this ? I want the ball of my foot back to normal. This same surgeon had done surgery to remove bunion on other foot about 5 yrs. ago. It was great! I am very put off by his "duh, I don't know what this is" reaction.

Hi Teresa,
Unless the surgeon actually did any "cutting" on the bottom of the toe, there would not be scar tissue there. Some hammertoe procedures do require cutting on the bottom of the toe.
I am not sure by your description if there is a lump under the skin, or this lump appears in the skin (there is a difference). If it is in the skin it is probably a skin cyst and is easily treated.
If it is under the skin and it is not bone, have an MRI performed to see what it is.
Again, I am sorry for being so vague because I do not know exactly where in the toe (besides the bottom), this hard spot is occurring.
Sometimes, when a portion of bone is removed, if it is not smoothed out, it can have rough edges which will also irritate and be painful.
My best piece of advice would be to go get a second opinion.
Marc Mitnick DPM

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ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

Mayo Clinic

Johns Hopkins Medicine

MedlinePlus

Arthritis Foundation

University of Rochester Medical Center

Harvard Health

Drugs.com

American Academy of Pediatrics

Penn State Medical Center

National Institutes of Health

Columbia University Department of Rehabilitation

ScienceDirect

Stanford Health Care

Illinois Bone and Joint Institute

Mount Sinai Hospital

Institute for Chronic Pain

University of Florida Health

American Family Physician

Cedars-Sinai

University of Maryland Medical Center

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Orthotics for multiple types of foot pain best buy in a pre-made orthotic click link below

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Unknown location

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New Zealand

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Sincerely

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Poland

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location unknown

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location unknown

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anonymous

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location unknown

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New Jersey

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location unknown

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Dear Marc

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San Diego, CA

Dr. Mitnick, Just want to say thank you so very much for your quick response and very informative reply! After reading what you had to say, I called the doctor's office and was able to get in and see him the same day as my injury. Toe was x-rayed and luckily, it is not broken or fractured. Very badly bruised and will probably lose the toe nail. And although my toe and toe nail are still very black and blue and very sore, they ARE both starting to feel a little better. So again, thank you! I am so very happy that I came across your website. The service you provide is outstanding and immeasurable!

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Albany, NY

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Whichita, KS

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Boston, MA

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Colorado

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Colorado

Wonderful advice

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location unknown

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Canada

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Wisconsin

Thank you for your response. You have provided some great insight (to my question)....

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location unknown

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North Carolina

Many Thanks Dr Marc!
Thank you for your response. It sounds like a good plan to me. He did not cut the wart out first ...

KG

location unknown

Thanks again doc for having this website and we STILL need qualified Podiatrists in beautiful sunny Tampa Bay (Bradenton) Florida.

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Florida

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New Jersey

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a mom

location unknown

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Bellevue, WA

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location unknown

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