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Morton's neuroma

Discussion in 'Ask your questions here' started by Unregistered, Jul 19, 2008.

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  1. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest


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    I have had a neuroma for several years. I received a cortisone injection, which made it much worse. With another DPM, I received sclerosing agent 7/1/05 (I was told no more than 3 injections with this agent), 9/7/05, and 11/16/05. About 3 weeks ago, I began experiencing what feels as if my foot is on fire - in the area of the neuroma. It is so bad now that I cannot bend my toes dorsally, as the fire at the base of, and through, the 4th toe is excruciating. So, because the sclerosing injections were not given in a proper time sequence, would that cause this on-fire sensation now? I am not able to "shop" for a just-right DPM, nor do I have money to throw away in "trying" a surgical procedure. I am unwilling to submit to any procedure that requires prolonged recovery, as I am extremely physically active: walking, biking, weight lifting, advanced step aerobics, hiking. A ligament release is not the answer, as I have splayed feet. The neuroma is/was not caused by wearing improper shoes, but by being a side sleeper for many years, with one foot planted directly over the other, while the other was pressed into a firm mattress, for 8 hours a night. I've tried inserts, but you cannot put something larger than a foot into a shoe without causing more problems, i.e. feet swelling, burning, throbbing, bright red. I am unable to use NSAIDS - GI bleed. So, I'm looking for immediate relief and have researched cryogenic neuroablation. It sounds promising. Someone's thoughts, please. Thanks.
     
  2. FootDoc

    FootDoc New Member

    DISCLAIMER:
    THE FOLLOWING IS OFFERED GRATIS AS GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY, AND, AS SUCH, MAY NOT BE APPLICABLE TO THE SPECIFIC QUESTIONER AND/OR HIS/HER PROBLEM. IT IS CLEARLY NOT BASED ON ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE AND/OR EXAMINATION OF THE QUESTIONER OR HIS/HER MEDICAL HISTORY, AND IT CAN NOT AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS DEFINITIVE MEDICAL OPINION OR ADVICE. ONLY THROUGH HANDS- ON PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH THE ACTUAL PATIENT CAN ACCURATE MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS BE ESTABLISHED AND SPECIFIC ADVICE BE GIVEN. NO DOCTOR/PATIENT RELATIONSHIP IS CREATED OR ESTABLISHED OR MAY BE INFERRED. THE QUESTIONER AND/OR READER IS INSTRUCTED TO CONSULT HIS OR HER OWN DOCTOR BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH ANY SUGGESTIONS CONTAINED HEREIN, AND TO ACT ONLY UPON HIS/HER OWN DOCTOR’S ORDERS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. BY THE READING OF MY POSTING WHICH FOLLOWS, THE READER STIPULATES AND CONFIRMS THAT HE/SHE FULLY UNDERSTANDS THIS DISCLAIMER AND HOLDS HARMLESS THIS WRITER. IF THIS IS NOT FULLY AGREEABLE TO YOU, THE READER, AND/OR YOU HAVE NOT ATTAINED THE AGE OF 18 YEARS, YOU HEREBY ARE ADMONISHED TO READ NO FURTHER.
    ***********************************************************
    Your post is replete with so many misconception and stipulations as to what you will and will not consider that it is difficult to offer you any opinion that will fit into the narrow scope which you will entertain. There is no reason to believe it valid that your neuroma was caused by a firm mattress. But first of all, everything that seems to be a neuroma is not necessarily a neuroma, so to suggest that ANY therapy is not "trying something" and that you might be "throwing your money away" is short-sighted, as there are no guarantees in medicine. Sclerosing agents are certainly not what I would have preferred to use, and it is indeed possible that they may have cause some of the difficulties you now relate. But your thoughts as to why a ligament release won't work is based on irrelevant facts. Cryogenic procedures are simply another method of treatment, and as with any therapy, results vary. Your best chance for success is the selection of a well-vetted, well-experience and well-trained podiatrist.
     
  3. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    I had surgery over three years ago. The surgery was very sucessful. The doctor made the incision on the top of my foot. Now I am pain free. I suffered like you for years and tried the injections and foot pads of all sorts. Nothing releived the pain until the surgery. I ask the nurse after the surgery to please let me look at what was causing my severe pain and there it was, no bigger than a dime this little mass of fatty looking tissue. So I would suggest the surgery to anyone....
     
  4. FootDoc

    FootDoc New Member

    I agree with you that surgical removal of a neuroma is often the best answer to the problem, but the drawback to offering lay testimonials and recommendations based on a single episode . . as most are, is that had you been one of those who had a failure or a complication, your recommendations for the exact same surgery by that same doctor would be in diametric opposition to what you have here offered . . . and believe me, surgery is neither for everyone, nor does it always result in the pleasantries you have experienced. Such recommendations should be left to a doctor who has performed such procedures many, many times and actually knows the statistical success rates in his/her hands. That is not to say that your input is not of anecdotal value. It's just that your unqualified (meaning unreserve) opinion can be of no more validity than your one-time experience dictated, and, as such should not be the basis for someone else's considered decision.
     
    Last edited: Aug 14, 2008
  5. chloe

    chloe Guest

    In response to person not wanting surgery. I have had problems associated to morton's neuroma in my right foot since the age of twenty. This went undiagnosed even though I complained of foot pain for many years. I too am a very active person... That said, I had surgery to remove the nerve in the ball of my foot and 3-4 toe last September. Initially this went well, although the recovery was a few months. Sad to say thousands of dollars later my neuroma is back! It is not radiating into my toes or heal so far... But I worry it is only a matter of time. I don't wear any heals, narrow toed shoe's etc.. I do wear supported flip flops like Nike or really ugly ung style shoes with a sneaker insert. the Ung style shoes with a sneaker insert are the only shoes that give me any relief. I see my podiatrist tomorrow but feel depressed and doubtful if any true relief can be obtained. Not his fault he is a wonderful, intelligent, and thorough doctor. My main question to anyone older, I am 40, will this last for the rest of my life? Is there anyone out there that has found relief, and if so please share. Thank you, Chloe
     
  6. FootDoc

    FootDoc New Member

    First, understand that ANY medical condition, whether treated or not, either gets better, gets worse or stays the same. So, if you were to have three replies to your question, "Will this last for the rest of my life?" and each gives a different but one of those replies, ONE would wind up being correct. But, just as your report regarding your situation is anecdotal, so will be any responses based on the requested individual lay experiences. The plural of anecdote is NOT data, so, throwing out such a question, ostensibly to individuals who may believe that they have experience a similar situation to yours is virtually useless in terms of your formulating your own prognosis. Moreover, the recitation of your experience is not truly helpful to the decision-making process of the person who did not want surgery, other than to reinforce his/her already stated opinion not to have surgery, but it is not based on the statistical chances of success or failure.

    Without knowing more about the facts and symptoms on which the initial diagnosis was based, the intimate details of the surgery performed, especially including having seen the gross specimen and read the histo-pathology report, it is difficult to meaningfully conclude the precise nature and cause of the apparent recurrence of symptoms, and accordingly, what might reasonably be expected to be done and its relative success rate. In other words, your question sounds simple on its face, but it is a very complicated matter to answer properly and accurately.
     
    Last edited: Aug 26, 2008
  7. I would highly recommend cryosurgery if you do indeed have a neuroma. This procedure is ideal because the success rate is high and there is minimal down time. I have found this far superior to alcohol injections and certainly superior to the regular surgery. Of course,
    there is not a single treatment that always works. I personally have performed all of the available procedures for neuroma and have had great success after performing nearly 1000 cryosurgery procedures.

    Hope that helps give you a rounded opinion.

    Marc Katz, DPM
    Tampa, FL
     
  8. FootDoc

    FootDoc New Member

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    Dr. Katz,

    In the spirit of that "rounded opinion" to which you allude, it might be nice to hear you chime in on topics where cryosurgery is not being promoted. We seem only to hear from you and/or two of your colleagues in regard to recommendations for this relatively little-employed technology in podiatry, which one of you has claimed to be currently only performed in a particular manner by the three of you. Why not register and participate in other topics of discussion, lest one might consider yours an infomercial?
     
    Last edited: Aug 26, 2008
  9. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    It's good to hear another opinion, thank you for posting.
     
  10. Dr Marc Katz

    Dr Marc Katz Guest

    Thank you Foot Doc for your kind words. I respond to questions associated with cryosurgery because that is my area of expertise. It is my goal to inform the public regarding cryosurgery, a procedure that was developed and refined by podiatrists.
    I find that you have a very negative attitude and a bitterness that is unwarranted. Believe it or not there are people in the world that respond for the sake of helping others.
    I personally believe in giving valuable responses without talking down to the person posting. Maybe there is a judgement lesson to be learned. When I read the posts of the general public I sense a frustration that there are not other opinions and they are being treated with disrespect!

    Respectfully,

    Marc Katz DPM
     
  11. FootDoc

    FootDoc New Member

    Seems I have rubbed a sore spot which I'll wager you have had similarly rubbed many times before. It would appear to me that your goal is instead self-promotion, a propensity for which you and/or your cronies have been chastised and called down by moderators of other forum sites where you post similarly. The only bitterness I have is for those who attempt to hide behind a claim of altruism, but with instead their own benefit in mind. The claimed value of your responses has yet to be established, as your replies to date have been essentially the same for every question which you have selectively chosen to answer. Take no heart in gratuitous, seemingly supportive posts, as there are one or two visitors who hide in the wood-work on this, as on most sites, looking for an opportunity to criticize the main-stays by feigning concurrence with those of your ilk, and I'm sure your post will again flush them out. But I will not allow this to degenerate into an on-going battle. So why not take up my invitation to chime in on other issues, if you are not indeed a one-trick-pony bent only on promoting yourself? As a practitioner does not become an expert in one sub-field of a profession without being able to demonstrate competence in general areas, we will then be able to assess yours.
     
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