h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have had webbed toes from birth. When I was a child my parents didn't see a need to have them separated and I became used to them until I became a teenager. Invites to pool-parties and the beach put such extreme anxiety in me that I would be soooo different from the other girls that I out-right refused to attend. My vanity was so compounded that I compensated for my insecurity by wearing tight, sexy, clothing and high-heeled (well more like stiletto heels) daily. What a foolish child I was. Four years of cramming my feet into pointy shoes on a daily basis did some damage to my feet. My big toe was pushed under my webbed toes and created bunions on my feet, both of them. I also developed large calluses on the soles of my feet from the constant pressure they endured. Needless to say I had some issues. At the age of 19 I had been graduated from High School for a year and had retained a retail job in a shoe store(of all things, but fortunately the job came with some great health insurance, which included surgery for my bunions. When I found a doctor that I had a good repoire with, he agreed to do the work on my bunions,toes(my toes, including the webbed ones, had developed into hammer toes), and if I so wished he said he could separate my webbed toes. Needless to say this all took alot of consideration. It sounded to good to be true. I could fix my feet, my greatest flaw, and be done with it in a few weeks. (Well, actually the recovery time for the surgery was six weeks per foot. I decided the twelve weeks semi-mobile would be better than six weeks immobile and dependant on my parents for my every need.I DO NOT REGRET THAT!!) In any event I decided to have the surgery which was done by laser (new approach:minimal bleeding, lower cost, done in office). Do I regret it? Never!! I am now 38. The hammer toes are gone!, The webbing(which in case I didn't mention was both skin and bone), not noticeable at all and the bunions removed. Unfortunately the bunion removeal was not permanent and the doctor had warned me that if I didn't choose another career that kept me off my feet and out of high heels they would return. Although I did wear flats during recovery time I returned to high heels as soon as I could tolerate them. They made my legs look great and boosted my sales quos, and were not worth it when my bunions grew back two years later. I abandoned the high heels forever when I began to notice the bunions growing back but unfortunately too late as the damage was already done. As far as the separation of my webbed toes, I have read that some people have had complications, I have had none. Actually the hammer toe straigtening and webbed toes removal were the most successful. I have no numbing, nearly invisable scarring ( I can't even see it in bright sunligh on the beach), just a couple of small indents(kinda like dimples) when I lift my toes up. and no skin discoloration at all. The procedure was done in New York on Long Island in Centereach. I do not remember the name of the doctor. I am very sorry for that. It was done back in 1987-88, and the cost was $2500 US dollars per foot. The insurance covered it all. I paid no money including the medication for pain and follow-up care, and the protective foot covers I wore during recovery.(I needed two as they were made for either the left or right foot and were like a boot that was removeable with velcro straps and a shoe-type sole.)I have no before and after pictures because I was always very ashamed of my feet before surgery and never took the inclination to photograph my feet after the surgery.

I must add that I later had two children. My oldest daughter has no webbed toes and is in perfect health. My son however did inherit my webbed toes. His are exactly like mine were. I had found a podiatrist here in Florida where I now live that has looked at his feet. He suggested I wait until he is older and his feet are done growing before the decision for surgery is made. I whole-heartadly agree. I asked my son if he would want the surgery, his reponse,"Why mommy, I was froggy and my feet can still jump now." Outta the mouths of babes. I will still keep surgery on the table if he later on so desires it. But, if he doesn't I am ok with that too.

Incidentally I found out after my son was born with the webbed-toes that my father had them too and had surgery to separate them. He had already passed away when my mother had revealed this to me at my son's birth. She mentioned that my father's mother had them also without having the surgery. I never noticed it. Of course, my Gramma was so very demure and I thought that was why she thought open-toed shoes were an abomination. I now know why she really didn't wear them. Just thought it was interesting to note this.