Quantifying Patient-Reported Disability and Health While Waiting for Bunion Surgery

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic surgery
• Patient-reported outcomes
• Foot and ankle disorders

Background:

• Hallux valgus often necessitates surgical intervention when conservative treatments prove ineffective.
• Patients frequently experience pain and functional decline prior to corrective surgery.
• Understanding patient health changes during the surgical waitlist period is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess changes in patient health and function while awaiting surgical correction for hallux valgus.
• To correlate wait times with patient-reported outcome measures.

Main Methods:

• Prospective recruitment of 80 patients in Vancouver, Canada.
• Collection of patient-reported outcome measures preoperatively.
• Data collected between October 2014 and August 2017, with a 52.7% participation rate.

Main Results:

• Average surgical wait time exceeded 8 months (mean 35.7 weeks).
• Patients reported high baseline pain levels.
• Only foot- and ankle-related quality of life was significantly associated with wait time; other foot function domains remained stable.

Conclusions:

• Preoperative health status for hallux valgus patients aligns with existing literature, showing high pain and impaired function.
• Wait times for hallux valgus surgery showed minimal impact on most patient-reported outcome scores, except for quality of life.