| EVE, MARCH 2001 | | | | home the next day, wearing chunky dressings and |
| 'It's not something I ever felt I could talk about, but | | | | surgical shoes. [Hmm, could set a trend.] We can |
| since mentioning I've had it done, I've found out how | | | | even do both feet at once. Most of the pain has |
| common it is; says Jane O'Sullivan, 44, a special needs | | | | gone after 48 hours. After two weeks, the swelling |
| teacher's assistant from north London. 'It's the word | | | | has gone down and a smaller dressing is applied; says |
| itself I don't like.' | | | | Moyes. |
| OUT IN THE OPEN | | | | You can then wear your Prada trainers (or someone |
| And the word is... ssshh - bunions. And yes, they do | | | | else's, as they'll need to be two sizes bigger than |
| sound like something your Great Aunt Mildred would | | | | normal) fora further four weeks. After which you are |
| have suffered from, not your gorgeous self. | | | | back in normal - or new - shoes. |
| 'Now I can wear strappy sandals again. More | | | | HOW WAS IT FOR JANE? |
| importantly, l can go to my exercise classes, which I | | | | 'It was absolutely marvellous,' says Jane. 'When I |
| love, because the bunions don't make my feet hurt | | | | woke up after the general anaesthetic I felt fine, ate |
| any more,' says Jane. | | | | a meal and went back to sleep.' Jane had both feet |
| WHAT IS A BUNION? | | | | done at once. |
| A bunion forms when the big toe curves towards | | | | 'I kept my feet up as much as possible for the first |
| the others and the joint becomes swollen and tender. | | | | day, but the stairs were too much, so I stayed |
| 'Surgery aims to return the architecture of the foot | | | | upstairs. My feet ached the first night, but the next |
| to normal,' says Mr Simon Moyes, consultant | | | | day the pain had nearly gone. It got better every |
| orthopaedic surgeon at the Devonshire and | | | | day.' |
| Wellington hospitals in London, who treated Jane. | | | | And the cost? Jane's operation was covered by |
| 'Bunion operations no longer involve long stays in | | | | health insurance. Without insurance, the cost is about |
| hospital or wearing plaster casts for six weeks. You | | | | £1,800 for one bunion (ouch!) or £3,000 for |
| come into hospital for an overnight stay and go | | | | both feet at once (bigger ouch!). |