Mr Edward Dawe 2021-09-07 Person 5 5 0

Since the first lockdown my wife and I had seriously increased the amount of walking we were doing but by about April this year the pain and discomfort from my bunions made long walks impossible and I was having to wear footwear two sizes too big. I booked a private appointment with Mr Dawe and he agreed that one bunion in particular was indeed very large. My wife and I had a long consultation with Mr Dawe. We felt unhurried throughout and he explained the procedures and options thoroughly and clearly and said he could either operate on both feet at the same time or, as was more popular, one at a time allowing time to heal between operations. He also explained that the surgery could be arranged through the NHS. As I was particularly keen to be back on my feet as normally as possible by September, and I am now retired, I elected to have surgery on both feet on 5th July privately at the Nuffield in Chichester. The operation was a great success and after six weeks I was back walking over a mile at a time and now, after nine weeks, thanks to the follow up physiotherapy which is included I intend to increase my mileage steadily. I am also able to swim a mile again already of non-stop crawl which is not too bad for a 70 year old post op. I had every confidence in Mr Dawe from the outset and I am pleased to say my confidence was not misplaced. Private bunion surgery is not cheap but with very long waiting lists for NHS surgery I personally feel it was money well spent. Would I recommend having both feet operated on at the same time? Yes provided you are fairly fit and have the assistance of a caring and patient partner/carer living with you. I would recommend exercising to get fit prior to the operation if you are able, as you will be somewhat immobile for a while afterwards. Is it painful? Yes there is post op pain as there are so many nerve endings in the feet and though I elected to use very few painkillers they are available to those with a lower pain threshold. I have had two follow up appointments with Mr Dawe and another is scheduled for four months time. I have had two sessions of physio with another this week (all included) and I am driving again without any problems. I would thoroughly recommend Mr Dawe and his excellent team to anybody deciding that they wish to have private surgery at a time to suit them and when they can allow recovery time to suit also.