Understanding bunion surgery
You said:
I have an online friend that I have been Telegram pen-pals with for a couple years now, and she just told me she had another bunion surgery. I don't know anything about this? and it is common for people to have multiple surgeries for this? She is in her retirement years if age is a factor in bunions?
ChatGPT said:
Thought for 29s
A “bunion” is usually hallux valgus: the big toe drifts toward the other toes and the joint at the base of the big toe starts to stick out, often getting painful and irritated by shoes. It can also change how the whole front of the foot loads when walking.
Is it common to need more than one bunion surgery?
It can happen, and it’s not automatically a red flag.
There are a few different “multiple surgery” scenarios:
- Planned stage/cleanup after the first surgery
- Some people later need hardware removal (if screws/plates get irritated) or a small procedure for stiffness/scar tissue. Secondary surgery after certain bunion procedures is a known thing.
- Revision surgery because something didn’t heal or align as intended
- Common “failure” patterns surgeons talk about include undercorrection/overcorrection, nonunion/malunion (bone not healing or healing in a suboptimal position), or new pain/stiffness.
- Recurrence over time
- Even when the first surgery is successful, the deformity can slowly come back, especially over many years. Reviews report recurrence rates that vary widely depending on technique and follow-up length (often cited ranges like ~5% to 50%, and some long-term follow-ups report much higher recurrence decades later).
So: most people don’t have repeat surgeries, but repeat procedures aren’t rare either, especially when you look over longer time horizons or certain techniques. Some literature on revision/reoperation reports ranges up to the low teens depending on definition/time window.
Does being in retirement years matter?
Bunions are more common as people get older, and they’re also more common in women.
But age alone doesn’t automatically mean worse results—studies have found older patients can still do well after surgery, though comorbidities (diabetes, circulation issues, bone health, etc.) can make healing and complication risk more of a factor.
If you want to be a good supportive friend, ask 2–3 simple questions
You don’t need to know the medical details; you can just show care:
- “Was this a revision of the old bunion, or a new issue (or the other foot)?”
- “Was it mainly to fix pain, shoe-fit, or did something not heal right last time?”
- “How’s recovery going—are you non-weightbearing for a while?”
Quick safety note (for her, not as a diagnosis)
After foot surgery, if she mentions fever, worsening redness/warmth, drainage, severe calf pain/swelling, or sudden shortness of breath, those are “call the surgeon/urgent care” kinds of symptoms.
If you tell me whether she said “revision”, “hardware removal”, or just “another bunion surgery,” I can help you interpret what that likely means in plain English.
You said:
she said there was a lump on the big toe and the surgery straightened out her other toes. She rode horses a lot, i don't know if that has anything to do with it or cowboy boots cause them.
I asked her if it was “revision”, “hardware removal”, or just “another bunion surgery. I'll wait for her to respond
ChatGPT said:
Thought for 21s
What she described actually fits pretty well with a common bunion pattern.
“A lump on the big toe”
Most of the time, people mean the bony bump at the base of the big toe (the big-toe joint) that comes with a bunion/hallux valgus.
Less commonly, a “lump” on/around the big toe can be something else (like a cyst or a bone spur from arthritis/stiff big toe), but if the surgeon also “straightened her other toes,” bunion-related deformity is high on the list.
“The surgery straightened out her other toes”
That’s a big clue. Bunions often crowd and push the other toes out of position, and it’s common to have hammertoes/clawing or drifting toes alongside a bunion. Surgeons sometimes correct the bunion and straighten the 2nd–4th toes in the same operation.
So even if she calls it “bunion surgery,” it may have been a combined bunion + hammertoe correction.
Are cowboy boots / horse riding related?
Boots can contribute—not because boots magically “cause” bunions in everyone, but because narrow/pointed toe boxes can crowd toes and aggravate the deformity and pain over time. Mayo notes experts disagree on whether shoes cause bunions versus contribute, but tight/narrow shoes are a well-known factor in symptoms and progression.
Horse riding specifically:
- Riding itself isn’t usually cited as a primary cause, but
- Spending lots of years in snug boots + forefoot pressure (and genetics/foot structure) can stack the odds.
Why would someone need “another” surgery?
Without her details, the common reasons are:
- New or worsening toe deformities (like hammertoes) that weren’t fixed the first time, or progressed later
- Recurrence of the bunion over years
- Hardware irritation/removal or cleanup for stiffness/pain (less dramatic than it sounds)
The best 3 follow-up questions (simple, not nosy)
- “Was this on the same foot as last time or the other one?”
- “Did they also fix hammertoes or straighten a couple smaller toes?”
- “Are you in a boot / non-weightbearing phase right now?”
If you want, paste her reply when she responds (even a sentence), and I’ll translate it into plain-English: what likely happened, and what “another bunion surgery” probably means in her case.
You said:
she just replied, it was less evasive than her other one. She had screws and plates in. This recent surgery just has a temporary pin.
ChatGPT said:
That reply makes this make a lot more sense — and it’s actually pretty normal in foot surgery terms.
What her details strongly suggest
- The earlier operation likely involved a bone-cut/realignment (an “osteotomy” or fusion-type bunion procedure), which is why she had plates and screws—those are used to hold bones in the corrected position while they heal.
- This recent operation likely included toe straightening (often hammertoe correction) where surgeons commonly use a temporary pin (a “K-wire”) to keep a toe straight while soft tissue and/or small bone work heals, then the pin is removed in clinic later.
So “temporary pin” + “straightened out her other toes” points more toward toe correction work than a full repeat bunion rebuild, though it could be combined. (The key is: it sounds like a different kind of procedure than the one that needed plates/screws.)
Is it common to have multiple procedures?
Yes — not everyone, but it’s common enough that it wouldn’t surprise an orthopedic foot/ankle surgeon at all.
Reasons people end up with a second surgery include:
- Staged or additional corrections (bunions + hammertoes don’t always get fixed at the same time, or other toes drift later)
- Hardware irritation from the first surgery (plates/screws can bother some people even after healing)
- Recurrence or progression over years
Her description fits the “additional correction / toe straightening” lane.
The one thing I’d ask next (because it answers everything)
“Was this surgery on the same foot as the first one, or the other foot?”
If it’s the other foot ‘now catching up,’ that’s super common.
A supportive message you can send her (copy/paste)
“Thanks for explaining — that makes sense. Plates/screws sounds like the bigger reconstruction, and the temporary pin sounds more like the toe-straightening part. How’s your pain and getting around? Are you in a boot or staying off it for a bit?”
If you tell me whether it’s the same foot or the other one, I can give you an even tighter read on what likely happened and what her recovery timeline probably looks like (in general terms, not medical advice).
You said:
create a cool infographic on what we discussed here
ChatGPT said:
Which image do you like more?
You said:
they both are great and I posted both of them on MCWAI
ChatGPT said:
Nice — and the combo works well: one is more “clinical explainer,” the other is more “story + friend-friendly.”
If you want to squeeze more value out of them on MCWAI, here are 3 quick moves that usually boost engagement:
- Title idea: “Why someone might need ‘another’ bunion surgery (in plain English)”
- Caption idea: “Plates & screws vs a temporary pin — here’s what that usually means, and why repeat procedures aren’t automatically alarming.”
- Call-to-comment prompt: “Have you (or someone close to you) dealt with bunions or hammertoes? What surprised you most about recovery?”
If you want, paste your MCWAI post link(s) and I’ll write a tight intro paragraph + SEO-friendly tags/keywords to match your style.