[Guest]

I am 43 years old and have had pain in the ball of my foot for 15 1/2 years. The doctors told me the medial sesamoid was bi-partite and prescribed orthotics which I've worn for for years. I've seen more specialists than you can imagine because the pain gets worse every year. The last pair of orthotics that were made for me are so big that I had a very difficult time finding shoes to fit them in! All the specialists I've seen were reluctant to operate because they said (when shaking their heads) that "the pressure on your feet with each step you take is like the pressure when someone else is running." I am living in Germany for 4 years and saw a doctor here that felt the only option was to remove the medial sesamoid because a special x-ray showed one of the bi-partite pieces were broken. I had the operation in May and wore a special shoe for 4 weeks. Since then I have worn very comfortable shoes with orthotics I thought it was just taking a long time to heal, but the doctor said it shouldn't be taking this long. It actually hurts more now than before the operation. During a physical examination he noted great pain when he pushed on the lateral sesamoid He feels the only solution is to also remove it. I have reservations about this operation because if it is so sore now, what will handle all that pressure after both sesamoids are gone? I would appreciate any advice I can get on this. My feet rule my life!