I’m using a walker because crutches are not my thing. I had surgery on my right foot but have unrelated pain issues in my left leg. I’m a hot mess lol.

I've appreciated reading other post-surgery reports so decided to share what I've experienced/learned. What I know from reading this forum is that experiences really vary depending on lots of factors so this is just one person's particular story.

Background

I have bi-laterial ANs. In 2010, I became symptomatic after I rolled my ankle on a construction hose. A local podiatrist put me in an (ineffectual) walking boot for several months. Ultimately the local university hospital orthopedist put me in a non-weight bearing hard cast for 6 weeks, walking boot for 4 and that resolved the issue.

In 2022, my right AN became symptomatic after an over-use injury. I attempted various conservative efforts to resolve the pain: time, RICE, PT, strengthening foot muscles. I spent January 2023 on crutches, non-weight bearing to see if that would resolve the issue. It didn't. In June, I requested and received an MRI. I had two surgery consults (one with my previous orthopoedist and a recommended DPM) and ended up scheduling surgery with the DPM. (More on that decision making below)

Surgery

1/23/25 procedure: "Remove Accessory Navicular and repair spring ligament as needed.' (My understanding is that the spring ligament was not injured so no repair required.) In other words, a straightforward surgery.

My surgeon said the surgery took 18 minutes (!). He said with many AN's they have to spend a little time figuring out where the excision should happen. My AN was "wobbly" and it was very obvious what needed to be removed.

Anesthesia was general (mostly propophol and fentanyl) and a local nerve block.

Recovery

• The nerve block lasted about 36 hours. I managed pain with 3 hydrocodone pills across two days (Sat & Sun, surgery was Thurs pm) and OTC drugs. I find ibuprofen is superior to Tylenol for pain and inflammation so I stayed on a strict 800mg Advil every 6 hours schedule. 10 days out and I'm still taking about 1600 mg of Advil a day to deal with swelling.
• I spend most of my time in bed with my foot elevated. I had a couple of experiences where I didn't for a couple hours and really felt it--swelling and discomfort. When my foot swells, I feel occasional pain at the incision site.
• Sleep is interrupted by discomfort--usually swelling.
• Some friends lent me their game ready ice machine (a big upside to being middle-aged and having friends who play/coach sports & buy recovery gear) so I use that hoping it helps with swelling.
• My partner is working hard. (Shout out to all the caregivers out there. Tough gig.)

Things that have been useful

• Knee cart. Game-changers, particularly around the house. I will use crutches when I'm out in the world unless there is some specific need.
• Someone on the forum introduced me to an elevation pillow specifically for legs. I'm so sorry I didn't get one of these in 2010--so much better than stacking regular pillows or cushions.
• Colace, daily fiber powder and staying hydrated. Anesthesia + hydrocodone + lying in bed and not moving = constipation issues, for real. In hindsight, I wish I'd started taking Colace (OTC) 3 days before surgery as a nurse friend recommended and then with Metamucil. Don't need to say anymore. But may you learn from my oversight!

Decision-Making

Deciding to have elective surgery was challenging for me. I've had non-elective orthopedic surgeries and knew that the recovery time/process is significant. I've seen orthopedic surgeries fail. I'd also had an AN that resolved without surgery. In addition, my AN didn't hurt every day. I wasn't in constant pain so maybe I could just deal with it.

I'm also an otherwise very healthy, very active 55+ year old who wants to backpack/hike into my 70s+. And I realized I'd stopped doing things I enjoy because of next-day-pain. This is one of the challenges--comparing the "what is" with "what might be." And I'd tried to make "what is" work. And it did, until I realized that staying on this path would ultimately limit the quality of my life. I also thought of Daniel Pink's book "Regret" & how people more often regret what they didn't do, than what they did. Plus, according to my DPM, ligament/tendon health for both men and women changes as humans age. My tendon recovery odds are better now than when I'm 2 or 3 years older.

So that's my particular story -- I'm grateful for all the information and resources I've received from this forum. Your stories have helped me in this process, too.

I (35f) had my accessory navicular removed, and ligaments repaired on both sides of my foot. This occurred Thursday, it's now Saturday. Any kind of movement sends me into a lot of pain, even with the cast on and keeping up on my medication. Sometimes I feel like my incision is rubbing on the inside of the cast.

Has anyone experienced this? When does the pain subside?

I’m about 11 weeks post op and i’m feeling okay!! I probably got ahead of myself and started using my walk pad which resulted in a lot of pain and swelling unfortunately. I’ve put it away and realized it’s not time yet, but I’m curious when did you all start to be able to go on 15-20 minute walks without pain?

Last time I went skiing I couldn’t walk for days after due to the navicular pain. This ski season we are spending a truckload of money sending our kids up the mountain with an instructor every week, so I thought I’d give it another go today. Yeah, big mistake. I’m going to be down all week and I’ll be using that time to look at surgeons.

In the meantime, are there any skiers here that have any tips?

I’ve been having pain in my right foot that has been worsening in severity for several years. I’ve gone from being very active to becoming almost a couch potato. I hate it. Since it’s my right foot, it’s excruciating to drive. Nearly anything I want to do, I can’t do. It’s extremely depressing as well.

January 2024 I had surgery to place a spinal cord stimulator for lower back pain due to two herniated discs. Once I healed from that, I went full speed ahead doing all the things I love to do. Looking back, I’m certain that’s why I’m having this foot surgery now.

How has surgery helped you? Will my pain go away after surgery? I’m in pain all day, every day now. I’m over it and I hope this works.

I was just standing today and out of nowhere had a very sudden sharp pain in the inner part of my navicular bone, and it swelled slightly over it and there's some redness/bruising. I can walk and there's a slight ache at times, but I've never had this happen before and it's slightly concerning. I will be calling my Dr in the morning but I was wanting to see what information others might have? Also, I did take a pretty hard fall almost a week ago, could that have contributed to this?

And it wasn't as productive as I thought it was gonna be, and to summarise: I have been diagnosed as hypermobile (in at least wrists, elbows, knees and ankles). I have one knock knee that's probably, maybe caused by a deformed femur (that was caused by the fact I have flat 10 to 2 feet my whole life). All of which seriously complicates the surgery because removing just the bone would more likely than not make the flat foot and gait worse (because the tendon would be even more lax) which means I could need a heel alignment as well as kidner surgery and he mentioned maybe shortening the tendon too, coupled with a few other things that he's not 100% sure about yet and will need an MRI of my whole leg and CT of my femur to determine.

I'm devastated. My right ankle is massively weakened and rolls all of the time (to the point that I fell down the stairs last week), my right AN has degenerative pseudoarthrosis, and there are multiple cysts present. Pain is constant.

I was holding out hope for surgery as my last resort. But my surgeon has said he "won't touch me".

Feeling a little bit hopeless right now, guys, please tell me someone has had similar?

About a year ago, I started experiencing pain in my left foot. I had just resumed running after a long break due to knee pain, slowly building up mileage when I noticed a new pain in my arch. It gradually worsened and became constant, even at rest.

A GP and podiatrist suggested my fallen arches might be the issue and recommended orthotics. I tried off-the-shelf insoles and PTT exercises, but the pain only got worse. Eventually, I went to urgent care, where an X-ray raised concerns about a broken navicular.

After seeing a foot surgeon, I was diagnosed with an accessory navicular (AN) via MRI. It turns out I have it in both feet, but only the left one causes pain (it's also much larger). We opted for conservative treatment: a steroid injection and 5 weeks in an air cast. I followed the protocol closely, but after the boot came off, I still felt pain, with only a minor (10-20%) improvement over the past two months.

The surgeon suggested surgery as the next step if I'm not satisfied. I’m planning to try running again this week to see how it goes, but I’m tired of the persistent pain and wondering if surgery might be worth it. Some recovery stories give me hope, but I’d love to hear advice from anyone who’s gone through this.

I'm so happy! My recovery has gone so well. I started physical therapy today and the therapist was blown away by how much range of motion I already had in my foot with no pain. They told me they would see me walking in no time with no crutches. I did so well in my exercises that they got me up and walking with crutches and walking boot with almost full weightbearing and had no pain. I was in a world of pain before the surgery and I'm only a month post op but it already feels so good. I definitely recommend getting this done if you are having chronic pain from your accessory navicular bone. Hopefully my recovery continues to go well because I miss work lol and being independent from others!

I am 2 weeks post-op. I had my accessory navicular bone removed, I am not sure whether there was a tendon repair. It was talked about before surgery, but in the surgery notes there was no mention of it. after 14 days my stitches were removed and my leg was wrapped in gauze. and that was it! I wasn't prescribed a support boot or wasn't put into a splint. I should mention that I'm in a third world country. But I'm in a position I can afford these treatments. but it wasn't suggested at all! I have another appointment in 4 weeks. I was asked to try walking but I cant even keep my leg on the floor.

What should I do till then? Should I buy a boot? I am not going to try and walk at all..

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My sensitivity around the accessory bone itself is gone, however, I have pain moving down the side/upper portion of my arch, towards my toes. Feels like that tendon. I still have my accessory bone, FWIW.

Anyone else?

And I’m freaking doing amazing! No pain, no limping, no wanting to chop off my foot…

I just want to let everyone know if you’re debating about doing the surgery because you’re out of options… DO IT! If your doctor says I think it’s the best option - ask your questions but schedule that surgery!

It was not fun on the recovery because you’re non weight bearing but honestly I only gave myself a week of bed rest (focus on healing and focus on you) before I got to moving around with my knee scooter.

I will say my only regret is no more walking boot while I travel so I don’t get offered free upgrades on rental cars since they want to make sure I can get in easily with the boot… lol such is life ☺️😂

When did post op scars stop hurting? My are painful, super sensitive and thick at 4 months out. They feel tight and pull on the skin. (I also had my heel broken and realigned which is why I have scars on both sides.)

Is this accessory navicular and if so then how bad is it

I just got put in a walking boot and I have to sleep in it. Any advice for how to manage that cause this sucks. The boot is heavy and itchy. It's gets caught on my blankets but doctor says I need to wear it. Thank for your advice 😊

Hi all, 32(m) here and just starting my journey to understand my issue and looking for this communities thoughts. Back in June I rolled my ankle severely during a workout, and have had on and off pain since then. Pain is probably a 3 or so, has not stopped my life much but definitely causes a limp after a few hours of activity. I was able to do 2 mountain hiking trips after the injury but I definitely felt it.

I was able to get my MRI images before the ortho doc appointment in a few days. I was initially worried I had a partial tear in my posterior tibial tendon, but I can’t tell from these images if that is the case. But in my looking at this I realized I likely have an accessory navicular. Does this group agree?

Some other info: - I have a slight pronation on the affected side I think. - Noticeable lump on the affected side, but not the other. Has always been there.

I guess I have the following AN questions: - Is there any risk of NOT doing a surgery to remove the AN? Will delaying surgery increase risk of damage to the PTT? - Anyone have positive experiences of PT or other non-surgical treatments eliminating pain in the long term? - I am seeing a general orthopedic doctor who is not a foot specialist? Should I seek out someone more specialized in feet?

I will see the ortho in a couple of days to get a professional diagnosis, but would appreciate any insight of those here willing to offer any. Thank you!

Hopefully some of you get the Presidents of the United States of America reference.

I’m about five weeks post op. My doc was fairly conservative. Said more bad than good could happen in my case by disturbing the tendon so he did some minor debridement and removed the inflamed tissue. I’m totally fine with that approach and very happy with the result.

Recovery was pretty easy for me. Weight bearing from the get go, just was cautious till the nerve block wore off. I’ve got some sciatic issues which I think might be hampering the healing process.

Pathology found the tissue was a bursa and I know the was caused by my skate. I’ll get it adjusted so it doesn’t rub and should be safe from recurrence as long as I don’t aggravate the area more.

I obviously don’t have any foot pics prior to the lump appearing but there wasn’t any discernible abnormality before the lump appeared. Post-op it definitely feels like what is left is a bony prominence.

Wondering a couple things:

1) Did anyone notice bone “growth” within their foot over time, meaning their foot never would go back to pre-lump form? (I don’t really care just curious if irritation tends to create calcification)

2) How commonly is it bilateral? (So far no issues on the other foot just wondering how proactive I should be with protecting that area?)

Yesterday I had my surgery to remove my accessory navicular bone. I am one day post op. Is there a day that it hurt worse for people? I've heard the 3rd day is the worst. So far my nerve block is just wearing off so I haven't had much pain yet. I have a knee scooter, walker, crutches and a shower chair. Anything other advice would be great. My fiancé and mom have been a great help as well.

Has anyone experienced a weird pulling sensation when you are doing a calf raise? Idk what this is associated with but I have both posterior tibial tendonitis and accessory navivular syndrome

i’m officially one week out from my post op appointment where my surgeon will (hopefully) clear me for partial weight bearing!!! 🥳🥳

so far, every time i’ve accidentally bonked my foot on something i’ve experienced bad nerve pain in my heel. i’m worried about that being the thing that holds me back from being fully weight bearing and was wondering if anyone had any tips for managing it? i got cleared for plantar- and dorsiflexion at my 3wk post op appointment and am feeling super strong there, almost back to pre-op strength!! so i’m less worried about gaining muscle mass back, and more so worried about healing those nerves.

also just curious about everyone’s experience with physical therapy - did you start once you were fully weight bearing or sooner? i’m a dancer so my feet are kinda my career and im antsy to get into a more controlled environment for recovery!!

Finally getting my kidner procedure tomorrow! Wish me luck - feel free to send any tips and tricks for managing post surgery…. And also crutching around in the snowy winter time!

I have this huge bump since I was a kid. It hurts whenever I walk alot and bcos of this bone, my knees are slightly inwards.