Haglund's Deformity surgery anyone?

Two of the many threads on this topic:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?board=1&id=1670247&thread=1669692

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?board=1&id=2287689&thread=1726112

Yeah I read through most of those, but didn't see much mention of if there is much of a bump afterwards. Thanks :)

I still have a bit of a bump years after - mostly due to bursitis, if I don't stretch my glutes, hips, etc. (opposite end, I know) then the bursae in my heels get inflamed, giving me big swollen heels. I think that this is called retro-calcaneal bursitis.

-Chuck

I had the surgery back in 2001.

The day before the surgery

http://groups.msn.com/cnsbldr/stuff.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=329

Today

http://groups.msn.com/cnsbldr/stuff.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=539

Not really much different from the outside. Other than bursitis, it doesn't bother me much at all - and the bursitis, I can control by stretching ... so no big deal.

I had some other surgery on my big toe ~2 years ago, prior to the toe surgery, I had side profile X-ray and there are still no spurs - actually the area where the heel was shaved looks oddly out of place since it was cut flat during the surgery.

Feel free to shoot me an email if you want. I should make a "Haglund's surgery" email template. ;-)

Also, did your podiatrist give you any idea about the cause? I wouldn't get the knife unless you know what is causing the problem.

Hey Chuck thanks for the response. Yeah mine is mostly on the outside of my left heel. It protrudes out there quite a bit - shoes are definitely interesting these days for me. The podiatrist said it was due mostly to wearing poor workboots and casual shoes with hard backs. I suppinate more on that left than do I on the right.

No plans for surgery yet; just heel lifts in my shoes. Was told to wear sandals for a while.

Having had the surgery done on both heels (by, alas, two different doctors), my understanding is that how much bump remains after surgery is a matter of how much bone is removed.

Here's my general advice (quoted from an earlier post):

Make terribly certain that you find a doctor who (1) has previous experience with performing the surgery and (2) has performed it on runners, and so chooses his options with a view to a runner's higher-than-average performance expectations. It might even be good, too, if you can find a doctor who is also athletic ( --a good piece in the NY Times a month or so ago discusses this point).

I curse myself every hour of the day for making the fateful mistake last May of trusting a doctor who cut out far more bone than we had agreed upon, detached some of my tendon from the bone (which I expressly and repeatedly forbade him to do), and left me helpless and hostage to his ego until my desperation grew to the point where, thanks to the sympathetic presence of an athletic resident physician, I finally obtained a referral to someone else (whom, alas, I won't be able to see until late March). I was running 95/week up until the day before the surgery, intended merely to have the extra bone shaved off and, as was the case with my other heel (for which the surgery was done by another doctor almost exactly two years before), be back running by 12 weeks. Now I fear I've been crippled. How I wish I'd simply gone back to the first doctor!

(Anyone considering getting Haglund's Deformity surgery in Lexington, Kentucky should contact me: I've had each foot done by each of the two doctors in the Lexington area who perform the surgery, and I can tell you which one is an athlete's worst nightmare.)

It is good that you have it on the outside, which means that if you do have the surgery, likely they will not have to detach the AT. Maybe they only lift up part of it. Mine were both in a location on my heels such that an incision was made on the outer side of each heel - maybe an inch or so long.

good luck.

I worked in Boulder around the time that I had the surgery and was able to get away with clogs before and after - which seemed to help. Before going under the knife, I would get a 2nd opinion and you might want to ask the doctor about physical therapy. I practically had to beg for the surgery, and no physical therapy was recommended ... basically the nurse took out the stitches and told me not to do too much. grrrr.

Thanks again Chuck - I'll email you for that surgery template.

I have contact with a Podiatrist/Surgeon who is also a runner and whom is very well known for his work. I hate to jump the gun with the surgery option - I'd really rather avoid it, but it has been very difficult to wear shoes lately. Running has been out the question too. Both of which are prerequisites of my career.

I've been told that the bumps are just sensitive right now, but I was told that two months ago also. "Wear sandals for two weeks." Nothing changed. If surgery without detachment of the AT is possible, then I'd much rather expolore that option. Anyone have that surgery?

I am considering getting the surgery, as well... I went to the doctor, and he said that surgery is pretty much the only way to really get rid of it (but I haven't had surgery, because I still have college eligibility left)...I've tried a bunch of other treatments, including cutting the backs out of my shoes, but it doesn't seemed to be going away...anyone ever gotten rid of this without surgery??? Is it counterproductive to continue training on it-like will my times just keep getting slower until I just can't run at all, due to this injury???

That was me ...

... sorry hit the post instead of quote ... I'm getting old.

First I started having trouble at the end of a season of racing, then it was after every hard race, then every hard workout, then every run, and finally it hurt just to walk - about a month before the surgery - it was killing me walking around the mall - I was having to sit down every 15 min or so just walking around the mall or the grocery store - toward the end, pain that I had previously felt only after a hard race or workout was there the next morning after walking around the mall. Honestly, if amputation been the only option to stop the pain - I would have considered it.

I would advise taking a long view and going ahead with the surgery if you've found a doctor in whom you have confidence. You'll need to be mentally prepared to be off running for probably no less than 2-3 months, and it will take probably a year or so to be without any lingering soreness.

If you have it bad enough, and want to run high mileage, no amount of conservative treatment is going to help much. (Those who claim otherwise seem to be confusing Haglund's Deformity -- which is essentially a matter of extra bone in need of removal -- with other ailments related to the achilles tendon that are indeed responsive to conservative treatment.)

Everything I've experienced confirms the helpful advice of CO-Runner.

I had the surgery last week. Doc left a little bit of the bump on purpose - removing it would have meant detaching more tendon, and in the grand scheme of things wasn't worth the risk.

Yes, that's what the first doctor did with my first Haglund's surgery. He removed enough bone without needing to detach any tendon from the bone. It's because of the second doctor's inexplicable removal of more bone from my other heel than we had agreed upon that I'm having so much more trouble.

thanks for the advice. Running is no longer much fun for me, because I can't train at the proper level to race well. I'm probably not even training at half the level I was this time last year. I first noticed that my heel bothered me a little at the end of last track season...however, since then, it's only gotten worse....Since you've had the surgery, have you been able to train at the same level you did prior to haglund's? I really want to run marathons in the future...is that a possibility if I go ahead and have the surgery? Right now, I can still usually walk without too much pain...however, I have had days (following hard workouts) that it hurt to walk around walmart or wherever the next day....

What doctor would you recommend in Lexington KY? I am a runner and would like to continue running after surgery.

I recommend David Burandt at Lexington Clinic:

http://www.lcsportsmed.com/staff/davidburandt.htm

He performed my first Haglund's surgery, removing just bone with a lateral incision. Six weeks after the surgery I begun using an elliptical (in retrospect, I probably could have begun sooner); twelve weeks after the surgery I was beginning 60+/week and averaged 70-90+ miles per week without a single day off until the day before I made the mistake of getting surgery performed by the other doctor almost exactly two years after the first surgery (if you want the second doctor's name, I'll be happy to share it with you privately, in email).

Actually, after looking at my records, it took not 12 weeks, but rather 16 weeks before I was running 60+/week.