Patient expectations of elective foot surgery

Area of Science:

• Podiatry
• Surgical Outcomes
• Patient Recovery

Background:

• Assessing patient satisfaction and recovery timelines is crucial in surgical podiatry.
• Understanding factors influencing recovery can optimize patient care and expectations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate patient satisfaction with surgical podiatry outcomes.
• To determine average recovery times for daily activities and exercise.
• To identify factors affecting recovery duration.

Main Methods:

• A two-part questionnaire was administered to 73 surgical patients by five podiatrists.
• Data collected over a 3-month period.
• Analysis included patient demographics and procedure details.

Main Results:

• 99% of patients reported satisfaction with postoperative results.
• Average return-to-shoe, return-to-work, and return-to-exercise times were 6.0, 4.5, and 9.0 weeks, respectively.
• Patient age, number of procedures, and procedure type significantly impacted recovery times.

Conclusions:

• Surgical podiatry generally yields high patient satisfaction.
• Recovery timelines vary based on individual patient factors and surgical complexity.
• Key patient concerns include pain, swelling, and overall recovery duration.