What precautions should one take after the bunion surgery to get the best results?

Bunion surgery is generally a very safe procedure. Risks will include surgical and anesthetic risks, and usually is between 1-2%. Short term surgical risks include bleeding, infection, neurovascular damage and very rarely fracture; and anaesthetic risks include heart attacks and strokes/ brain damage. This is however very rare, and usually in the older folks with multiple medical problems.

While I think that this a very subjective question, I believe that you can get an indication of from the doctor's experience and number of cases the he/she has done. You must also feel comfortable with the surgeon you pick, so that you will trust the decisions he/she makes for you. Almost every orthopaedic surgeon will know how to do a standard “open” bunion correction. However, the thing that will differentiate a particular surgeon from the rest would be if he/she can suggest (and perform) other ways of surgical correction that might be more suitable for the patient.