Before your operation
- If you have your own X-rays please bring them to the clinic with you
- No food, drink or smoking for six hours before surgery (you may have sips of water up to two hours before surgery)
- Contact the Fortius Clinic in advance if you have any cuts, abrasions or skin problems on the leg being operated on
Staying in hospital
- Usual stay: one to three nights
- You will have a ½ plaster backslab dressing for the first two weeks
- A physiotherapist will give you advice about using crutches to keep the weight off your foot
- Make sure you book a post-operative follow-up appointment when you are discharged
What to expect after your operation
- Swelling: minimise this by keeping your foot elevated above your heart
- Pain: you will be given a prescription for pain relief medication on discharge. Keeping your foot elevated will also help minimise pain
- Bleeding: you may notice some oozing through the bandages. If there is heavy bleeding, please contact the Fortius Clinic as soon as possible. Keeping your foot elevated will minimise bleeding
- In most cases, overall healing is expected to be fair at three months, good at six months with no swelling, and back to normal at 12 months
- Stay in bed for the first two to three days with your foot elevated above the level of your heart on three or four pillows
- Move around only when you need to, for example to wash or use the toilet. Do not put weight on the operated leg
- An ice-filled plastic bag placed over the foot or resting the foot on the bag will help ease the pain and swelling
- Take pain medication as prescribed when necessary
- Do not get the dressing wet or remove it
- Keep your foot elevated above your heart as much as possible for the first few weeks after your surgery
Looking after yourself when you return home
If you develop a fever along with increased pain and discharge from the wound, please contact the Fortius Clinic as soon as possible for advice, or consult your GP.
Follow-up appointments
Everyone is different, so healing and post-operative programmes vary from person to person. However, the follow-up appointments below are typical:
At 7-14 days:
- The dressing is removed and changed
- If necessary, sutures (stitches) are removed and ends trimmed
- A fibreglass cast may be applied and a cast shoe supplied
- Weight-bearing: partial to full weight-bearing as you are able to
- Continue to elevate and rest leg as much as possible
At 6 weeks:
- Cast removal
- Referral for physiotherapy supervised exercises
- You may now bath as normal and allow the wound to become wet. Dab dry rather than rub with a towel
At 10-12 weeks:
If you have any questions, please contact us for advice.