Patient expectations of elective foot surgery.

A two-part questionnaire was dispensed by five different podiatrists to 73 surgical patients over a 3-month period. Seventy-two (99%) of the patients were satisfied with postoperative results. The average time required to return to shoes, work, and exercise was 6.0, 4.5, and 9.0 weeks, respectively. Age, number of procedures, and type of procedure did have an effect on these values. Subjective comments indicate that surgical patients are most concerned with pain, postoperative swelling, and time needed for recovery.