Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the patient’s satisfaction and expectations post-hallux valgus (HV) surgery.
Methods: A survey-based, cross-sectional study was conducted among patients who had undergone HV surgery (Lapidus procedure) at a university hospital in Riyadh; from January 2020 to December 2022. The participants were interviewed by telephone in December 2022. The questionnaire was divided into two parts. The first part demonstrates patient’s personal data, and the second part focuses mainly on patient expectations and satisfaction.
Results: A total of 28 patients who underwent corrective surgery for HV were included. Patients’ ages ranged from 18 to 59 years. Around 60.7% of patients had high expectations before the surgery. Where 53.6% reported that they faced no problems after the operation, while 46.4% reported that they had problems after surgery such as pain, stiffness, nonunion or recurrent deformity. When patients were asked to describe their original foot condition since treatment, 39.3% showed a much better case, 32.1% said it was better, 17.9% said it was the same, and 10.7% showed deterioration. A total of 14 (50%) cases were satisfied regarding surgery output, 5 (17.9%) showed some satisfaction or uncompleted treatment and 9 (32.1%) were unsatisfied.
Conclusion: It was concluded that 67.9% of the patient satisfaction was related to improvement after the surgery. Due to the level of education, gender, and patients’ high expectations before surgery; it is recommended to conduct multiple research on this topic and increase the data and variables.

Key words: Hallux valgus, lapidus, satisfaction, expectations, Saudi Arabia.