I broke my little toe and have been told i need to have the knuckle removed. how long do i need to be off from work? i has a cortizone (hydrocortisone) shot, did no good. the bone is crushed no a clean break.

I : I would say it depends on what kind of work you do, and the extent of the original injury. Not knowing either of these, let me say this: removing the head of a phalanx (one of the small bones in the toe) is no big deal. The surgery takes less than 10 minutes, and you have about 5 sutures in your toe. It's usually done under local anesthesia, but an anesthesiologist can give you IV sedation if you're nervous (not that lying naked on an operating table surrounded by masked people with sharp objects is anything to be nervous about). Since there is no bone-to-bone healing that's necessary with this procedure, you can probably start walking right away, but to a minimum. You'll probably be wearing one of those fancy post-op shoes from paris for about 2 weeks, and for 10-14 days, you'll need to keep the dressing dry. After 10-14 days, the sutures come out, and the dressing is tiny, perhaps even just a band aid, and then you can wear a sneaker. You'll be able to get back into your stilettos in 6-8 weeks. The swelling can last for months, however, but shouldn't cause you pain. So if you're an accountant, you can get back to work in 3-5 days. If you're a nurse or waiter, it might be as long as a month before you're running around. You mentioned there is no "clean break." this might complicate things, and your surgeon needs to make sure there are no small pieces of bone left in the wound. If, in the process of injuring your toe, the skin was also broken, this is considered an "open" fracture, and infection is always a big concern, including the possibility of a bone infection. So such a complication will keep you off your feet even longer. Of course, there is nothing like asking your surgeon how long he or she advises you stay out of work. I'm a bit puzzled with the cortisone injection, though. I've never heard of injecting cortisone into a fracture site, especially one of a crush injury. Steroids delay and hinder bone healing, so i'm at a loss as to why this was done. Hope this helps. Good luck!