Flat foot surgery is a big deal, and I have written an article with five questions you need to ask your surgeon before having flat foot surgery performed. Now all flat foot surgery is different and there are myriads of procedures out there. So I attempt to answer questions you have on them.
1. How many Flat foot surgeries do you do? There are tons of flat foot surgeries to choose from, and there are many surgeons, Podiatrists and Orthopedists that think they can do flat foot surgery. Some surgeons do the same procedure regardless of the patient because that is the only procedure they know how to do (you want to avoid that kind). You want a surgeon that has done at least a two year or three year residency, that is trained and performed multiple procedures, and does a couple every month. There is no surgeon that does like twenty a month as it is just not that common. You want an experienced surgeon who is well trained. You need to ask these questions before the procedure because afterwards is too late.
2. Do I even need surgery? First things first. Do not have surgery if your flat foot does not hurt. Too many times I see people that want surgery so their foot has an arch even though there foot does not hurt. If your foot does not hurt you do not need surgery. It is too major of a procedure to have done with too many risks to have done for cosmetic reasons. Also, having this surgery will not make you a better athlete or run faster. It will slow you down. Flatfoot surgery is no joke and should only be done for pain that has exhausted conservative therapy. Which leads me into question number 3.
3. Have we exhausted conservative therapy? And please do not say well, I tried orthotics and they failed. No, you need to try at least two different pairs of orthotics. Consider bracing and physical therapy as well before you have surgery performed.
4. How many nights will I be in the hospital and how long will I have to be on crutches? Seems obvious but people still forget to ask the obvious at times. There is a large variation with how long you will have to be off your feet: from 6 weeks to 12 weeks. Try and nail your doctor down, plus you want to make sure he has a concrete plan. (in other words if he is experienced he will have a concrete plan).
5. What do you think could go wrong? Flat foot surgery is risky and every procedure carries with it different risks. You need to know all the possible complications and results of the procedure you are having performed.