Do you have a Pin in a broken toe?

Question

Has anyone had a pin put into a broken toe? I whallaped my last two toes on a heavy furniture base. Walked on it for 1 week and decided it needed an x-ray. Yes it's Bad. The 4th toe is snapped into at the section closest to the foot. I may need a pin. Any advice from a wise one? Many thanks!

Answer 1

You need to talk to an ortho doc. They can better tell you if you need to have pins put in or not. Most times toes heal on their own but sometimes people do need to have pins put in. depends on how bad the break is. If you do have the surgery done the pins will stick out of your toes until the bone is healed and then they will pull the pins out. Everyone is different on how long they take to heal. (Smoking slowes down the healing process by half)

Answer 2

I think that if you can find a remedy that doesn't require surgery, then that is your best bet. All surgeries have some level of risk involved - from infection to downright botching. Taping your toes together and staying off your feet as much as possible is a good course of action for most broken toes. Speak to your podiatrist or orthopaedist about your particular injury and what they think about a non-invasive approach.

I have had surgery on both of my big toes - and now my joints are fused and my toes don't bend. Also, my mother has a pin in her second toe, and the toe is super short and looks so bad that she no longer wears sandals (and we live in Florida!) I don't know why her toe shortened so much, but it appears to be some sort of atrophy.

So, think long and hard before you go through an operation that might not be necessary when there is an alternative available.

Good luck - hurting feet can make a person miserable.

this Site might help:

http://www.myfootshop.com/detail.asp?Condition=Broken+Toe

Answer 3

You don't HAVE to pin a broken toe...usually they are just taped to the next toe and allowed to heal. It depends on the extent and location of the fracture.

Answer 4

The best person to decide on whether you need pin or not is the orthopedist. See one ASAP-don't waste time asking here. If I say you need or don't need a pin, would you follow my advise?

Answer 5

So many experts on here saying you don't need to pin a broken toe and that taping is enough. I have a broken pinky toe and my podiatrist said it was broken in 4 places and if I want to wear shoes again and not be in pain when I walk, it should be pinned. I am surprised by people when they ask what happened and they tell me their own stories and "how tough they were to just tape them together", blah, blah, blah. Then they tell me how their toes have never felt the same in shoes after all these years. Why just suck it up when something can be done to help fix it. I for one already have foot pain from bunions, high arches, etc., why add one more thing to deal with. Get the toe fixed for crying out loud.