Surgery for Plantar Fasciitis on both feet at once for extreme high arches

by Erica
(Texas)

I have "mega" arches...Like seriously! I always have and everyone freaks out when they see my feet... Well, I have had plantar fasciitis in both feet for about 9 months now.

I finally went to a Podiatrist because the pain has been getting worse and unbearable. After looking at my xrays she said that I probably fall into the 5% who will have no option other than surgery to correct my issues.

I also have a short Fascia so that is another issue. She is going to of course try the therapeutic route first because she is not a fan of rushing into surgery, but she said that more than likely it will not resolve the issues because my arches are just so extreme.

I was considering asking her if both feet can be operated on at once. I know that this will mean that I will be in a wheelchair and that I will need a lot of help to get around and stuff, but family is commited to helping me.

My son drives, my spouse works from home and luckily I have a desk job. My other children are all teenagers and so I have a great support system. I would just rather get them both done and out of the way at once as well as not fall into another year so that I do not have to pay another HUGE deductible on my insurance for the same surgery.

Also it will be done during the summer which would be much easier for me with 5 kids that I wont have to get around places for sports and such. Is the recovery much harder with both feet at once or is it about the same? I know my mobility is of course restricted more, but I have all that taken care of.

I also do not know if this is even something that they do because I wanted to research it before I brought the suggestion to my doctor.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!



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Joshua Answers:

Hi Erica.

I'm not a big fan of that 'probably' diagnosis.

So you have big arches. So what?

Have you had foot pain and problem all your life?

You have a 16 year old son, so while I'm making some assumptions, you're at least 30 years old.

And you've only had foot pain for 9 months. Yet you -have- to have surgery?

If I were in your shoes, I would want to know WHY surgery is 'probably' your only option? If it's your only option, why bother with therapeutic methods to see if they work? You either have feet that need surgery, or you don't, right?

So you have 'tight fascia'. Ok. So? WHY IS IT TIGHT? How is surgically cutting away the pillars that hold your feet up/together magically going to make the foot pain go away?

Tendonitis, of which Plantar Fasciitis is a member of, is a progressive mechanism of various factors getting a little more and a little more 'bad'.

See: What Is Tendonitis

Foot surgery doesn't not fix those factors. It just cuts the support structures of the foot.

If you naturally have a super high arch, what exactly to you think is going to happen when the fascial structure that holds that mobile arch together is cut apart. That high arch is going to collapse when you put your weight on it.

Please ask your surgeon how that's going to beneficially affect your life.

It is my opinion that if you were born with an extremely high arch, then it's natural for you and only 'extreme' when compared to others.

If you tell me that you've had foot pain your entire life, then that's a different question.



Perhaps you can tell that I'm not a huge fan of surgery in your situation.

If that fascia is indeed 'short' and/or tight, it's tight for a reason(s), and that reason will not be fixed nor helped by surgery.


So, to answer your actual question: Yes, surgery on both feet at once is harder than a foot at a time.

When it's done a foot at a time, you can at least get around on one leg. When both feet are done, there is NO getting around on your feet for a good long while (depending).

But it sounds like you have a good support system and will be prepared for it, so all in all, I don't know that 'worse' for a shorter duration is much better than 'less worse' for a longer duration as one foot and then the other is done.

Ultimately, if you're prepared for it, however you do it is just fine.

Yes, they can and do do both feet at once, but they usually don't, partly to make it easier on a person (physically and life style) and partly to see if it at all helps the first foot.

My concern is always that you'll be worse off after the surgery than before.

Granted, people with successful surgeries generally don't go on the internet and tell their success story. But if you've looked through the titles/stories on the Plantar Fasciitis Surgery Stories page, you'll see a lot of instances of people who expected surgery to solve all their problems finding out it's anything but that.

For the record, I'm not steering you away from surgery, but I am saying that A. surgery doesn't fix the CAUSE of the pain/problem and B. surgery would be my last resort, by far, and I suspect that you haven't begun to adequately try methods that reliably reduce foot pain.


More questions, more answers (and very often, feed back you never asked for. :)




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Joshua Tucker, B.A., C.M.T.
The Tendonitis Expert
www.TendonitisExpert.com