Bone spur - surgery or leave alone ?

[BS Slarver]

Posting this thread in the boot fitting arena and perhaps it belongs in the injury section, but I'm seeking thoughts from fitters on this one.
Yes, I know about interweb bootfitting advice and really just wanting some opinions here.

One the top of my foot, on the navicular bone, I have a bone spur. The spot is directly under the buckle. Compounding the Problem is a ganglionic cyst that grows as the season progresses and then subsides in the spring and is gone by the fall. I can literally count the ski days by how big the lump on the top of my foot gets ! As far as pain goes at or around 40 days it starts to be a real drag and by 50, it needs to be drained or it's just unbearable.
My surgeons suggestion is to remove the spur and cyst in late September ( the earliest work will allow ) and wants me off that foot for a MONTH..... argh !
The things we do for a good boot fit, right ?

I've had several good bootfitters over multiple years and boots and brands try to punch shells and adjust liners without luck. Ive done the foam liner, tongue area with extra padding during fitting and no luck. I'm in a tecnica Mach1, their boots seem to fit me better than any I've worked with in the past, I am open to other makes and models if the area of the clog in question can be manipulated. Please, don't suggest an Apex, I'm not going there !
Feet are 9.5 street shoe in a 26 / 26.5 shell and rare that I even buckle the instep past the first notch. Not a plug boot guy but I like / need a performance fit.
Perhaps a touring boot like the Cochise with a walk feature to reduce stress before and after skiing when long walks seem to be the most pain ?
Have I overlooked any fitting options ?
If I go under the knife in September, when would the be the earliest one should be looking to get the foot back in for sizing and fitting ?
Anyone been down this path ?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Frankly]

I've had eight spurs over the years and you absolutely have to get them removed. Recovery is not fast and while I can't estimate your case, I wouldn't plan any expensive ski trips.

 

[BS Slarver]

Thanks for being frank- ly !
Trips already planned are part of the apprehension along with the term " elective " surgery

Surgeon is well respected with great results but not a skier like my knee guy. Part of his regiment is to stay off it for four weeks and ice daily during that time.

 

[Frankly]

I always got injured during my rehabs because I'd do foolish stuff (like going rappelling when told not to climb) so I never got a clear picture of how long it would take to do it clean but I think it would be months, it is raw bone.

 

[Uncle Louie]

I had multipe bone spurs on my heels removed in the last several years at different times (some there 20 plus years). The first time(s) I had the right foot done, a month later the left foot done, and 30 days later I was on the hill again teaching a clinic. While IN the boot there wasn't even a sign of discomfort (I was not on any meds at that time). I had to be careful about getting the boot on and off to not do any damage getting my foot into and out of the heel pocket of the boot. I put the boot on and took it off when the shell was warm. That was somewhat critical with such a quick return to skiing.

I'm skiing in a Solomon X-Max 130 which was custom fit by a well respected and known boot fitter in the Summit County Co area.

I would think that with a Sept surgery you would have no problems at the start of the season.

 

[BS Slarver]

UL - thanks for the reassurance on the procedure.

I found the salomon and tecnica to have a similar fit.
Actually got fitted with that boot while in Italy a few years back mid trip when I couldn't take the pain any further with the aging boots I brought with me. Bummer was the foot was already inflamed to the point that even the bootfitter was even taken back by the knot on my foot.

 

[cem]

the decision to have surgery is one i can't help with on line but the boot fitting part possibly...

for this spur to be under the buckle i am going to hazard a guess that it is not your navicular but the junction between the first metatarsal and the medial cuneiform, this is often a common point for bone growth and it is normally caused by excessive mobility of the 1st ray... unless you can stabilize the joint and the medial side of your foot it will continue to grow as it gets irritated by the boot/shoe/anything else that rubs it

the key here is to get the best stability you can with a well made orthotic footbed then create space for the bone... it will need to be a combination of things to do this, stretching the shell upwards in that area is not too much of a hardship with the correct tools and methods, it is then probable that you need the liner cut away and rebuilt as you have every layer of material and stitching known to man in that area (an intuition liner might work without the need for cutting it but it will depend on the extent of the bone growth) but without the stability the foot will roll and the bone will get irritated and grow further.

we have accommodated some pretty golf ball sized lumps in this way in the past, but every case is different and every outcome can be as well.... i have seen massive exostosis which needed very little space, and tiny almost non existent stuff need cavernous accommodation

good luck getting it sorted either with boot mods or the surgery

 

[surfsnowgirl]

I have a bone spur in my right foot which is my smaller foot and my boot fitter modified my boot and basically gave me a "toe condo" to accommodate the area. I agitate the hell out of it when I'm teaching as I'm running all over the beginner area like I'm in sneakers instead of ski boots but unbuckling my boots tends to help a lot. Sometimes I'll have to take my foot out at lunch and reset the boot but otherwise it's a night and day difference to how things were with my other boots.