Are you considering Morton's Neuroma surgery? Are you reading every possibly firsthand experience, after all the online clinical information starts to sound suspiciously the same?
From personal experience as the support person of a person suffering from foot neuromas, I beg of you to consider radiofrequency ablation (RFA) first. Even twice or three times, if the first one doesn't work out.
I am a big advocate of Dr. Stephen Barrett, a podiatrist who practices in Arizona. I have never met the man, but the only doctor who has been able to help my "patient" learned RFA technique from Dr. Barrett. Dr. Barrett also has a number of well-written, persuasive articles on this topic. The links are below, and I will quote from them.
My understanding is that Morton's Neuroma is a thickening of tissue around a nerve (I am still not clear which tissue does the thickening) when the nerve is irritated, usually by compression from the bones around the nerves at the ball-of-foot level. Many sites dance around the issue of whether this can be caused by too-narrow footwear. My personal opinion, backed up by the idea that this happens to more women than men, is that high heels and narrow toe boxes are self-torture devices. But back to "Morton's Neuroma."
Dr. Barrett advocates calling this condition "Morton's Entrapment," as it is not a "true" neuroma. A "true" neuroma, or a stump neuroma, is an often painful ball of nerve tissue which can form at the end of a cut nerve. These can develop after an amputation, for example.
For "Morton's Neuroma," or "Morton's Entrapment," there are a number of "first line," conservative treatment options, such as roomier footwear, cushioning at the forefoot, and pads to offload certain areas of the foot. Why not try them first?
This video from Dr. Barrett describes the "second line" treatment of this condition, which attempts to relieve pressure on the nerves by cutting a ligament which holds those ball-of-foot bones together. (I have heard that this can heal, but maybe it will give the nerve time to normalize?)
If this is ineffective, the next step should be radiofrequency ablation. Dr. Barrett gives a very interesting explanation of his method, which involves real-time x-rays (fluoroscopy), and "burning" the nerve in three places to maximize the chance of success. I wish we had done this before any surgery. I really, really do.
"Amputation neuromas," or recurrent Morton's neuromas, or stump neuromas (all referring to the same thing, in the foot) can be treated by radiofrequency ablation also. It can be tricky, though, as the location of the nerves is no longer as dependable. We did not experience any success until our third ablation attempt, because the nerve needs to be within about 3 millimeters of the needle for the "burn" to occur. But again, once a resection surgery has failed, why go through another surgery unless you have to? You will have more scarring and another chance of a new neuroma, further toward your body.
Oh, and from personal experience, the grand idea of burying the cut end of the nerve in a muscle belly is a possibility, but often does not work because the muscles in the foot are very small. Barrett's first picture in this article shows a minimally invasive surgery for this method. It may be worth a try, but was not an option for us because of existing plantar (bottom-of-foot) scarring.
After all this -- conservative method, ligament release, RFA --- if you still have pain, perhaps you will consider the traditional nerve resection (nerve cutting) surgery. But I beg you to try the other methods first. The radiofrequency procedure is a needle stick and a small burn, and has far fewer risks than an open surgery, which is likely to create scar tissue (which can create problems for nerves), and possibly lead to true neuromas. And they burn and burn and burn. My patient has multiple, and they are disabling. Crippling.
Spread the word... friends don't let friends try "traditional Morton's Neuroma surgery" first.
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