bunions and surgery

Hi,
I am very sad to say that I have developing bunions and hammertoes. They didn't keep me from backpacking the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Mt Rainier, Trinity Alps, North Cascades and Pt Reyes this year, but I do get some discomfort and Merrells seem to be the only boot wide enough in the toe box for me anymore. Big toe isn't crossing the little 'uns yet, though.
Anyway, a foot doctor (with excellent references) suggested surgery, which bums the crap out of me! I guess part of the theory is that it's better to operate now (I'm 51) before it gets worse and I get older.
I'm resigned to the fact that I'll be off work for 3 months if I do it, but I'm worried I won't recover well, or I'll have complications and never backpack again. Anyone have personal experience with surgery?
thanks!

If it were me, I'd get a second and even a third opinion. My mother-in-law had bunion surgery and she had sore feet until she died.

I have bunionettes, which are little-toe side bunions. My foot doctor told me about the surgery option, but he recommended that I first try finding footwear with a wide toe-box and see if that solved the problem. I did and it did, so I've not had surgery for this.

The particular shoes I went with are Golite brand --- nice wide toe boxes. I have no idea if this would help much or at all with traditional (big-toe side) bunions. But I've done lots of walking since then: thru-hiked the PCT in Golites last year (2008). Ended up with some other foot problems but no further bunionette issues.

So I might also be inclined to look for a second opinion.

The standard claim on surgery is that you get the best outcome if you find a specialist who does your surgery A LOT.

I had bunionette surgery (little toe structure, no big toe) a few months before doing my first AT hike, after being out of backpacking for 25 years. I did a lot of reading and research on the web, and found out about the various options....

Shoe fit, minimal surgery, major reconstructive surgery.

The doctor that I selected happened to also be the one who would see me right away. Several others wanted me to wait one, two or even three months before they could see me.

The surgeon was sensitive to the time needs and presented the minimal surgery and the major reconstructive surgery as options. The major reconstruction would have me off my feet for quite a few months. With luck, the minimal surgery would heal fast enough in the February to April timeframe that I could do the hike. Long term, he cautioned, I may have to have the major reconstructive surgery anyway.

The minimal surgery healed in time. I did the hike with antiinflamation pain pills and a compression sock. Just Springer Mountain, GA, to Damascus, VA.

I became very sensitive to getting shoes that fit properly around the bunionette area... mainly the toebox and the width of the shoe.

The few times I incorrectly picked shoe fit, I noticed both pain and swelling in the bunionette area. I discarded such shoes.

Most of the shoes I buy now are Wide Width, even though the shoe fit gauge in the store indicates a D width is the "proper fit".

The foot is still functional, and I have hiked several hundred more miles on The Superior Hiking Trail and another section of the Appalachian Trail.

There is a technique sometimes called "Broomsticking" that can be used with leather footwear to stretch local areas. The rounded end of a broomstick and "shoe stretch" liquid (or isopropyl alcohol) are used with considerable force to do the localized stretching. Doesn't work on synthetic materials which fail to soften and stretch.

Do your research and good luck in finding a competent, skilled and understanding surgeon.