Sorry to hear that Tom. For me, those early Campy road pedals which seem to have been designed for small feet didn't help me make the right shoe choice. Both my bikes from the 70's and 80's had 'em and I was always trying to find cycling shoes narrow enough to fit those nice-but-damn things.

My foot surgery was not "one and done". But YMMV since your symptoms sound different from mine. Now (after two surgeries on my bad foot), I can usually walk just fine after a long ride as long as I wear shoes that don't flex. I like to say that I roll better than I can walk, any day - but more surgery is in my future. What I find is that if I pay attention to wearing the right thickness of cushion socks, combined with the right size rigid shoe (tied carefully so not too tight), I have little enough pain so that I can do my daily 10 mile commute and still be able to walk the dog on some days. Some days, not so much.

I had my first Hallux Valgus operation at your age, 11 years ago - my great toe was crossed under the second, and my great metatarsal joint caused me lots of pain. I spent three weeks with my foot elevated over my heart, so yes, short term disability comes into play if available. Everything Shimagnolo says about hydrostatic pressure is true. Put your foot down and you'll know it right away. When the wound site swells the sutures can open up, delaying healing significantly. On the other hand, they really want to monitor the wound site to assure that no sepsis can arise. The longer you can remain with your leg maximally elevated in the first weeks, the better.

I had to have the operation done again four years later on the same foot (or is it three - I repress remembering unpleasant things!). The first doctor failed to "release the capsule" of the joint. I had similar healing period, with leg elevated, another time off work, and another prolonged recovery period.

And today, I'm in sufficient pain when walking that I've been advised by the best foot doc in this burg that the next step is surgery to fuse the two adjacent metatarsals with a plate, after doing much chisel reduction of the malformed joint. Meanwhile, my podiatrist said that in previous decades, sufferers would be sent to a shoemaker to fashion shoes with steel shank rigid soles. I found some really comfortable Shimano MTB shoes which will fit cleats but without cleats are totally walkable - and I've worn them constantly on a daily basis at work ( I stand all day) for the last 18 months. My foot simply won't tolerate flexing at the metatarsals. But I'm totally off the idea of spending another month or two on my back - at 66, you lose a lot of muscle tone in that time. So I'm postponing further surgery until I simply can't take the pain. But this is complicated for me because I also have a knee that is completely devoid of lateral cartilage and hobbles me sometimes too. Multiple surgeries on that leg are in my future - one for knee, one for my third round on the foot. Sigh.

We take walking completely for granted. It is hard to say at this stage whether any surgical fix for you will be permanent. I think the best approach is to learn as much as you can before committing to surgery. Look up Hallux Valgus on Medscape and other websites. It's scary and informative at the same time - and the terminology may be foreign, but there are a lot of options which are determined by your specific joint deformity. It is vital to ask your orthopod what s/he feels about the outcome of the proposed surgery, or how long they think the fix would last. That way you'll be less disappointed if it turns out like mine did - it is good to be psychologically prepared. If you can approach the surgeon having learned about the different procedures and options, you're in a better position to ask questions rather than let the surgeon take the lead. Also, if you're in a position to have an independent second opinion by another recommended surgeon, you might find that they recommend a different surgical procedure than the first. Fortunately you are in an area dense with orthopedic surgeons, so it might be easier for you to find a short list of "best surgeons" for your problem. Ultimately, your stated goal to your surgeon should be that you want the procedure which gives you the highest chance of pain free outcome without having to have further surgery in the mid term future. If you do your homework before hand, it is certain that you will be a better advocate for yourself. After all, the surgeon won't have to do the walking for you a decade from now.

Anyway, good luck with whatever you chose to do.