In this video, a patient tells how he was able to return to the activities he loved, without pain, thanks to a new, patented bunion treatment called Lapiplasty. This procedure is now available in Richmond, Virginia, at The Foot & Ankle Center. Video courtesy of TREACE Medical Concepts, Inc. As with any medical treatment, individual results may vary and this experience is unique and specific to this patient only.
Tom's Story:
With the work that I do, and my hobbies, I would say that I’m on my feet 50 to 70 percent of the time. Sometimes, all day on my feet. I’m a forensic consultant. I basically use my engineering design and construction skill to help be an expert witness for problems after they occur. Outside of work, I love to be outdoors. My favorite things to do are fishing down on the beach, walking the beach, and I work out three times a week with a trainer.
I’d say the first time I noticed problems with my feet was five to eight years ago, where I noticed that there was some pain. As it progressed, I found myself with acute pain when I walked, and I began to stop doing the activities, or at least cutting back on the level of activity that I was doing. Losing that ability to do things because of my foot began to make me feel lower self-esteem, I definitely felt depressed. I started to think maybe I’d end up being disabled. I wondered how the rest of my life would be. The tipping point when I decided I had to get this fixed, was when I was out in Arizona, I got out of my truck to go hiking, I got 150 feet away from the truck and I had to turn around and go back, and I said, I gotta do something.
I started with a foot and ankle surgeon. He told me about where they shave off a piece of the bone, and he said that’s not what you need, and he talked about something that realigns the bone called a Lapidus procedure. And I started looking it up online. And I started realizing that people were saying a lot of times that it hadn’t worked out long-term like what they wanted.
About that time, I started bumping in online to this idea of the Treace Lapiplasty System. I actually looked at videos of the conventional surgery, and then I looked at the Lapiplasty System being utilized by a surgeon, and it was clear as daylight. I’m a mechanical engineer. Just by looking into it, I thought that looks better. I went back to one of the original surgeons that invented the system.
I had the Lapiplasty procedure on my left foot on May 25, 2018. Four days later I walked through the airport, in my boot, on my way back to Florida after the surgery and from that point on I was able to be mobile in that boot. The pain that I actually had was so much less than what I expected out of surgery — and I’ve had knee surgery, I’ve had wrist surgery, I’ve had other surgery. So I was really pleased.
After I got out of the boot, I was able to start back with my trainer about two months after that. To be able to do the things that I love to do without pain was so incredibly satisfying. One of my favorite things is to walk that beach. It’s one of the ways I take care of myself mentally, emotionally, physically. Three months ago I was about to walk that beach for the first time in three years. And I knew right then, my life is going to get good again.
I didn’t realize until I had the bunion — until all this — just how important having good feet is to your life. They’re the foundation we walk on. And I got to feel that in a real way. I am so grateful that somebody out there had moved medicine farther and that served me, as just a regular guy who wanted to have a regular life. Somebody had done the right thing and figured out something that was better, and I got the benefit. For that, I’m totally grateful. It’s turned out to be exactly what I’d hoped for. I am pain-free at 10 months and able to do everything. I can’t tell you how great that feels.
Only a surgeon can tell if Lapiplasty 3D Bunion Correction is right for you and what level of activity you can expect after healing is complete. There are potential risks with surgery and recovery takes time. Potential risks include, but are not limited to: infection, discomfort from the presence of the implant, loosening of the implant, and loss of correction with nonunion or malunion. Please consult with a physician for complete information regarding the benefits and risks associated with the Lapiplasty procedure.