The Complete Guide to Bunion Surgery
Before you choose bunion surgery, understand what must be corrected, what recovery can look like, and how to examine the evidence for yourself.
Understanding Bunions
The Moy Approach
Pain, Recovery & Daily Life
Is Bunion Surgery Painful?
Bunion surgery has a painful reputation, but the recovery experience is not identical from one surgeon or procedure to another.
Walking, Driving, and Recovery
Most patients begin protected walking immediately, but the amount of standing and walking must be controlled while the correction heals.
Risks, Recurrence & Revision
Why Do Some Bunions Return After Surgery?
A bunion can return when the underlying structural and soft-tissue forces were not fully corrected or when the correction was not adequately protected during healing.
What Can Go Wrong After Bunion Surgery?
Patients deserve an honest explanation of possible problems, how they develop, and what can be done to reduce the risk.
When Bunion Surgery Does Not Produce the Expected Result
A failed procedure can create structural, functional, cosmetic, and emotional problems - and many patients delay seeking help because they are afraid of repeating the first experience.
Can a Stiff or Arthritic Great-Toe Joint Be Preserved?
Dr. Moy favors preserving the natural joint whenever it can reasonably be decompressed, realigned, and restored to useful motion.
Evidence & Results
What Should Patients Look for in a Successful Correction?
The goal is a foot that looks, moves, bears weight, and feels as close to normal as possible - not simply a straighter photograph.
See the Evidence for Yourself
Patients should not be asked to accept a surgeon's promise without seeing what previous patients actually reported and demonstrated.
Getting Started
Could You Be a Candidate?
Most patients in satisfactory health can be considered, but candidacy is determined individually after reviewing the foot, medical condition, bone quality, and recovery requirements.
Traveling to Southern California for Bunion Surgery
Patients travel from across the United States and other countries. Most preliminary evaluation and preparation can be completed before the patient leaves home.
Request an Evaluation
The first step is a careful review of the patient's health, symptoms, foot structure, joint motion, weight-bearing X-rays, and goals.
About Dr. Richard R. Moy
More than 35 years of bunion surgery focused on reducing trauma, preserving function, and restoring the foot toward normal anatomy.
Download the Complete Patient Guide to Painless Bunion Surgery
A single PDF export of every chapter in the guide above, for reading offline or printing before your consultation. Supplemental only — the pages on this site are always the current version.
This website provides general educational information and reflects Dr. Moy's clinical experience and professional opinions. It is not a substitute for an individual medical examination, diagnosis, treatment plan, or emergency care.
Every patient's anatomy, health, bone quality, procedure, healing response, and recovery are different. Recovery milestones and outcomes described on this website are typical or reported experiences and are not guarantees.
Patients should follow their own written postoperative instructions and contact the office promptly with unusual symptoms. Sudden chest pain, difficulty breathing, fainting, or another emergency requires immediate emergency medical care.