Ok, so this is not as urgent as I make it sound, but it does bother me. I have a very long second toe, that is the one next to the toe traditionally known as the big toe. I say that because I call my second toe “my big toe” as it is significantly bigger than the rest. This causes me to have to wear up to a size 16 shoe (men’s) which are hard to find, and when with a slightly shorted toe I could wear 13’s and 14’s comfortably. My question is, is there a way to shorten this thing? Surgically, I would assume, but I’d imagine it’s not a regularly preformed operation. I ask because it looks gross (to the ladies, of course) and it often hurts when I wear sandals and it bumps the ground. I’m serious here, this thing is longer than my pinky finger. Thanks in advance.
Please?
Nobody helped me. I’m serious here, this is no joke.
Help his toe.
I don’t have any particular experience to share, but I’m pretty sure what you’re describing is not a hammer toe. Hammer toe is when one toe is permanently bent under, not when it’s abnormally long.
Have you gone to a podiatrist?
OK, it’s apparently possible. That’s about all I can tell you. No details on how this was done. (Second down on the left.)
http://www.footnewyork.com/baphotos.htm
I’d say talk to podiatrist/surgeon.
So wait, it is possible to get that second toe shortened? I’m wondering if this will affect my gait or anything weird like that, any podiatrists out there? (I’m a teenager and my parents don’t consider it serious enough to warrant a doctor’s visit. Translation: doctors cost money, and that’s not cool with them.) If not, I can live with it until I get older. Thanks agian.
I don’t have experience with your particular problem, but I have had bunions (where the joint below the big toe gets enlarged and starts pushing the big toe over towards the others) for many years. I broke down and got surgery on the right foot about four years ago, after it started periodically hurting very badly. Because of my experience with foot surgery, I have not had the left foot fixed even though it is now worse than the right one was.
Now, surgery on a second toe is likely to be less painful than on this joint, but I discovered some things about foot surgery. My doctor said I would experience “some stiffness.” Four years and counting later, the joint is still stiff. She said I should expect pain post-surgery and that she would give me pain medication. The pain was incredibly bad, she initially gave me a very mild prescription, and she started balking at giving me more pain pills after two weeks. The severe pain lasted four weeks, and it slowly subsided over eight weeks. I was on crutches for seven weeks. I no longer have bouts of acute pain in that joint. I do, however, seem to have developed arthritis in it, and that aches more often than the bunion did, although at a lower intensity.
I would suggest that you do a whole lot of research before willingly undergoing foot surgery. While orthopedic surgeons can do a lot to repair broken or defective bones, the consequences of surgery can sometimes be worse than the original problem. I have to buy extra-wide shoes to accomodate my left foot, and I probably should wear a narrower right shoe (but I don’t because I’m not willing to buy two pairs at a time). Still, I’d rather do that than go through another foot surgery, and I plan to hold out until the pain in my left foot becomes unbearable.
AFAIK shortening the toe would involve working on the shaft of the bone and not the joint, so it probably wouldn’t be as bad as bunion surgery.