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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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Unknown location

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Colorado

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Weird knot after bunion/hammertoe surgery

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