Conversation: The conversation between human and AI assistant.
[|Human|] I had a staph infection in my foot after a bunionectomy surgery over 28 years ago. I recently went to a foot specialist and was told that I have a pseudo joint in my big toe, dead bone in part of the toe and a fibrous tumor in my foot. The surgery would involve replacing the dead bone, cleaning up the foot and adding an extender in my big toe. I have put off the surgery due to the recovery time and not wanting to endure the pain involved with the surgery. In the last 2 weeks my foot is now swollen and painful to walk on. The doctor said I may fracture the bones in the middle two toes since my big toe cannot support my weight. My question is could there be an infection now?
[|AI|]  Hello, What are describing does not sound like an infection.  Signs of an infection would include pain to the touch, warmth, swelling, feeling sick in general, redness on the skin, etc. It sounds more like the pain is coming from the joint, bone or tendons due to inflammation.  If you have any signs that I mentioned I would check in with the foot doctor or your primary care doctor.  Otherwise, I would consider the usual ice, rest, elevate and possibly some over the counter acetaminophen or ibuprofen if you have no other medical issues that would make these unsafe. Take care, Chat Doctor.