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The risks associated with bunion surgery depend on the type of operation you have. Possible complications are:Â
- Recurrence of your bunion.
- Poor alignment of the bones in your toe.
- Joint stiffness.
- Pain in other parts of the joint as a result of the weight being transferred to other parts of the foot.
- Fractured or broken bone (this is more likely if you try to do too much too soon).
- Non-union of bone (the bones do not knit together).
- Nerve damage leading to a loss of sensation.
- Numbness, tingling or burning.
Below is a list of general complications of foot surgery.
- Prolonged swelling.
- Continued pain.
- Infection in the soft tissue (or bone) of your foot (this can affect 1-5% of foot surgery patients).
- Deep vein thrombosis (blood clotting in the vein).
- Delayed healing (this can occur as a result of a damaged or poor blood supply, or from doing too much too soon. Bones also take longer to heal in smokers).
- Thickened scarring.
- Screw or pin movement.
- Chronic pain syndrome (continued pain as a result of the nerves failing to switch off pain signals). If this happens, you may be referred to a pain clinic.
- Further surgery may be needed. Â
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