<p>My older D is a professional ballet dancer, and she knows other pro dancers who have had the surgery in their 20s and successfully returned to dancing en pointe. Follow the activity and icing instructions to the letter.</p>
<p>A friend of mine also had both feet done in recent months (consecutively, not simultaneously). She is a little concerned that the big toe on the first foot is starting to drift back over toward her second toe. But then, she ignored doctor’s instructions about activity and the boot, so I’m not sure why she is surprised. The second foot is still healing, so probably too soon to tell how that one will turn out. And yes, she ignored doctor’s restrictions about that one too.</p>
<p>Please talk seriously with your daughter to be 100 percent compliant about not putting ANY weight on the foot during recovery. I had excellent results, which might be due in part by my unwillingness to ever set that foot down as long as I was told. It’s tedious to use crutches just to get over to a bathroom, long after you’re feeling better, but it’s apparently crucial to a full recovery.</p>
<p>My friend’s husband had the identical surgery but was ridiculous about ignoring this instruction. He developed problems and never healed completely.</p>
<p>I was able to return to work early by using my dad’s discarded wheeling-walker. It was very heavy-weight, much more than the little-lady-metal bars with wheels. It looked like a stepladder with tire wheels around 10 inches diameter. It was much faster and more fun than crutches. I put my knee up on the metal bar, so foot was off the ground, and kicked like a scooter to power myself forward. I could work up quite a speed, and foot never touched the ground. It had a little tray to carry things, too. I needed rides to work, but my walker folded and went into the car trunk.</p>
<p>I have high pain tolerance & it was my left foot, so I was fairly active during my recovery.
I got in trouble for it from the Dr., even though I explicitly told him he needed to specify how long to rest it.
Telling me to get off of it when it hurt, was not going to work, because it didnt hurt that much.
It healed fine, he just thought it was swollen.
Soaking in Epsom salts helps.
Also after surgery, she might want to work with a pt or movement therapist just to be assessed. Pain can affect pattern of movement as we try & compensate. However that can become ingrained & we may have to consciously learn new movements so as not to push our body back into familiar and unwanted shapes.</p>