People come to the London Foot and Ankle Centre not only from throughout the UK, but also abroad. Anastasia Georgiou, who is resident in Cyprus, explains why she chose to have her surgery at LFAC in London Bridge Hospital and how she managed during the recovery period.
When did you first experience foot or ankle pain?
I started noticing the problem while I was growing up, the hallux valgus started shaping when I was around six years old. It started causing pain at a later stage. Both my grandmothers had the same problem.
How did it feel and where did it hurt?
It was inconvenient to wear shoes that were not wide enough for the bunion; it would always turn red and hurt after walking more than 30 minutes. It gradually started to have an effect on my knees and back because I also have flat feet.
What effect did it have on your life over time?
At a later stage (when I was 21) I started wearing insoles, therefore could only wear closed shoes. The structure of my feet was changing noticeably which caused more pain, discomfort and limitation regarding walking, running and standing.
How did you go about getting treatment – who did you see and how did you end up coming to London Bridge and seeing Mr Klinke?
I started seeing orthopaedic surgeons when I was about 18 years old. I was situated in Cyprus therefore was seeing surgeons based there. I was not satisfied with their proposed treatments and conclusions.
I heard about Mr Klinke from a patient of his who had several unsuccessful procedures by other surgeons before and was at the time recovering after being operated by Mr Klinke and she was very satisfied with results. I was finishing my studies in the UK and was able to have a consultation with Mr Klinke.
How did you decide on the treatment and how did you feel about having surgery?
Mr Klinke proposed a treatment of three procedures to correct the bunion (Scarf & Akin procedure), to release the gastroc slide which would give more range of flexibility and reduce flat feet, and to shorten the 2nd and 3rd metatarsals because of their length which did not allow the weight to be distributed equally on all toes and caused pain beneath the 2nd toe.
How did you get on during the first few days after surgery? Was there any pain?
My surgery took place in July 2012. I spent two nights in the hospital, on the first day after surgery I had to start mobilising my feet and walk. I had surgery on both feet, therefore I had to move around with crutches. I was shown ways to move to the bathroom and go up and down the stairs. There was some pain but because of medication I was coping with it. I stopped taking painkillers after two weeks or so.
How did you get in during the first weeks after surgery?
I arranged to stay in the UK for four weeks after my surgery. Because I was leaving after four weeks, I started with only dressings and no cast. However, to protect my joints and prevent damaging movement, I wore post-op shoes for a few months a toe alignment splint for three to four months. I also wore silicone toe spreaders which I sometimes still wear when wearing narrow shoes. It was difficult to bear weight therefore my mobility was limited.
How did you manage, especially in terms of international travel?
It was quite painful to walk around and I had to keep my feet elevated at all times. For two weeks I rented out a wheelchair (from wheelfreedom.com) which made it easier to get out of the house for a while. I was using the crutches to move in the house and go up and down the stairs.
I also had to travel back to Cyprus three weeks after surgery which included a flight. I asked for assistance when booking the tickets, wore flight socks for circulation and elevated my feet as soon as I landed. I didn’t have any trouble flying.
Was there physiotherapy? What did you do and how did it help?
I was mostly following the exercises I was given by Mr Klinke which included mobilising the toes in dorsi and plantar flexion to avoid stiffening and increase flexibility of the joints and the feet as well to strengthen the calf muscles and give flexibility to them and the gastroc slide. At physiotherapy, I was given other directions such as picking up marbles with the toes, and massaging the feet with the use of props to increase circulation. I also applied ice (not straight on the skin) on my feet and soaked them in warm water again to increase circulation.
Three months after surgery
I started walking more comfortably after about three months and it took a bit longer to walk in a fast pace. I had started running (slowly) after four months and cycled as well at this time (for short distances and slowly, slowly increased it). I started yoga lessons around the same time, which helped a lot with my recovery, since I was not able to do any exercise apart from walking before this stage.
How would you describe your foot overall now?
Now a year after the surgery my feet don’t hurt, unless I stress them out a lot, which I believe is normal even if you don’t have surgery. I am able to walk for long distances (around 13 km). I don’t have as much flexibility on the toes as before surgery but that doesn’t limit me in any way. I continue to exercise my toes as the 2nd and 3rd toes of the left leg were floating three months after surgery and found series of exercises to make them more flexible in order to stop floating (now they don’t float but are not too flexible). I can do everything I was doing before but there is no pain on my feet, knees and back. The alignment of my foot and leg is much more correct and the calf muscle much more flexible which reduced the impact of the flat feet.
How did you find being a patient at London Bridge Hospital while being based in Cyprus?
I had to stay in the UK for a month to have two follow-ups with Mr Klinke and I was staying outside London. I believe LBH was a great choice as every member of staff was pleasant, efficient and made everything much easier and as comfortable as possible.
Between my second and third appointments after surgery I had x-rays of both feet taken in Cyprus and had the x-rays sent via email to Mr Klinke for assessment. I had also sent him a set of photographs at a later stage which showed the range of movement of the feet and toes. In my experience, it was pretty straightforward to have my treatment in London then return to Cyprus and by far the best option, to access high quality surgery rather than be treated locally but not be satisfied by what they were proposing.
Is there any message you would have for people with the same problem as you?
Our body recovers faster than we think! I could see significant improvement everyday. Do your best to help your body recover like eating well, sticking to the surgeons and the physiotherapist’s advice and their series of exercises and do some research on you problem, possible treatments and recovery.
