The following information about my experience with Lapiplasty 3D Bunion Correction is brought to you in partnership with Treace Medical Concepts, Inc.
I started this blog in 2017 because of my love for hiking and the outdoors. I’ve told you many times how hiking healed me, strengthened me and brought me immense joy.
All of that became threatened as a bunion on my right foot worsened and caused severe pain that hindered my ability to hike. I have even finished some of my adventures barefoot because my bunion hurt so badly I couldn’t keep a shoe on. I have gotten really creative with bandages and moleskin to try to mask the pain while hiking Half Dome and I even backpacked out of Havasupai with only socks on (pictured below).
I kept pushing past the pain because I heard how painful bunion surgery is and how lengthy the recovery time would be. Frankly, I heard horror stories about “shaving off” the bunion and you probably have too. I knew I would eventually need intervention but I held out hope for the technology to improve. “Somebody’s going to come up with a better way,” I would think.
In my first year of motherhood, it became obvious the intervention I needed could not be postponed any longer. I wasn’t just in pain while hiking, I was in pain just pushing my son in his stroller. I vividly remember a day at the zoo when he was five months old. I don’t even think I made it 15 minutes before the walking hurt my foot so badly I needed to take a seat. I knew at that moment, I wanted to get my bunion fixed immediately so I could get back on track by the time my little boy wanted to go hiking with me. I mean, if I couldn’t even walk with him at the zoo, how were we ever going to have adventures in the mountains together?!
I went home and dug into research about bunion treatment. Immediately, I came across information on Lapiplasty 3D Bunion Correction. I learned that this is different from traditional surgery because it actually repairs the unstable joint that leads to a bunion instead of cutting the bump off. I knew this was the treatment I had been waiting for!
The next step was to set up consultations with podiatrists and find out if I was a candidate. At these appointments, the team took x-rays of my foot, told me about the device that would be used to correct my bunion and gave me the opportunity to ask lots of questions. I was mostly concerned about when I would be able to get back on my feet. When they told me I could be in a walking boot within days of surgery, I knew I wanted to schedule surgery ASAP! I got it on the calendar just a few weeks later.
I prepped for surgery by getting ice packs, ibuprofen and arranging for my mom to drive me to and from surgery. The morning of surgery I did have to fast because I would be going under and I arrived at the surgery center about two hours prior to the start of my procedure. The nurses administered a COVID test, got my IV hooked up and went over my health history. My doctor talked to me and checked in to see if I had any final concerns.
The anesthesiologist took time to talk to me about how I would be sedated and numbed. Something I found unique was the approach to minimizing pain. The anesthesiologist actually performed a block on my leg to keep my foot numb for about 24 hours after surgery so I would be completely pain free. This brought me a lot of comfort knowing I would not be in pain when I awoke.
Moments before surgery
In my next post about Lapiplasty, I’ll get into the details of my recovery but what I want to tell you now is this: I am so glad I chose to get this procedure done. I have so much hope for my future now that my bunion is corrected! I cannot wait to continue my healing and get back to hiking.
If you can relate to my condition and have been putting off bunion intervention yourself, I encourage you to learn more about Lapiplasty and schedule a consultation. You can get started here. https://bit.ly/2YNFHOy
Individual results vary. These experiences are specific to these patients only. Lapiplasty® is a surgical procedure. Potential risks include infection, pain, implant loosening, and loss of correction with nonunion. To learn more about the benefits and risks, please visit Lapiplasty.com/Patient-Risk-Information.