Made me laugh. My Dad had such skinny narrow feet he often bought women's footwear, and that was his exact size in a B width
I didn't get his skinny feet. I have wide, meaty feet that need sufficient room top to bottom in the toebox, which means that several brands are impossible for me to wear without blistering the tops of my toes (not because of length issues). But maybe I have some useful input for OP.
While I don't have a bunion, I do have a nerve issue on top of my big toe, right at the same joint. That makes it even more necessary for me to have boots that have a "high" toebox, and ones that the uppers don't "break" or fold right over that joint. Add to that that I want all leather and have very high arches, so I need orthotics.
So, in my never ending search for boots to replace my current falling apart and glued back together ones, I have tried well over a dozen ordered mail order and probably another dozen in stores over the last few years. I at least did buy extras of the last ones that worked, but they are now worn out too and discontinued. Things are getting desperate since I have now re-glued my "good" ones and resurrected my old ones and re-glued those.
So needing the roomy toebox, all leather, and a roomy enough tongue bellows entry to get my high arch into, I finally found a pair of Crispi Tibet GTX to try. They are new and I am still breaking them in, but I am optimistic. My old Vasques are super broken in, so I am very used to those. The Crispi has a much stiffer sole than I am used to, so I am having to place my feet on the tops of rocks more carefully right now (just getting to the point of hikes with them now). But for a repaired bunion, that might not be a bad thing - less sole flex.
The roominess around the toes is very nice, and not a disadvantage due to the lacing system. There is plenty of room for me and my orthotic. There is a special lock-eye that locks the tightness you want over the front of your foot and instep before you then tighten the laces around the ankle. On my trashed ankle, that allows me to not get the boot too tight over the troublesome nerve trigger, yet still be able to truss up my bad ankle on the same foot.
So, OP, I have to agree that a pair of Crispis might be worth trying. They are spendy, but if they allow you to walk, the cost benefit ratio goes up significantly. And I can't go barefoot. I don't know what to tell you on the footbeds since I removed those. But you may want to get some custom orthotics. My Pedorthist made dense foam ones for me that are firm but not hard like the fiberglass ones I got years ago from a Podiatrist. Maybe your surgeon can refer you to someone good.
Since they are new, I can't speak to the longevity, but I have been known to go through a pair of boots in a season, so I will soon enough know how they stand up. I have returned from hunts with Duct tape holding my sole on and also ended the season with ShoeGoo or Gorilla Glue holding my sole on (like now).
For comparison, both Kennetrek and Mendle boots were way too low top to bottom in the toebox for my meaty foot, thus, I have had to return those when I tried them just indoors.
I doubt that any manufacturer extends warantees to repairs, actually, but it would be nice to know what to expect. It does sound like you got amazing wear out of your old boots, really.
Danner does have better room in the toes of their boots as well, and builds on several lasts, but their sizing changed radically over the last few years, and now my size 8 to 8.5 seems to need a 9.5! I have a pair of Pronghorns (all leather) I am working on too, but they are a little too high for my calf, so I think I may have to shorten them to really wear them. I don't think those will last as well as the Kennetrek, and those can't be resoled. Some Danners can, I believe.
Best of luck with the recovery and the boot hunt. Check back in when you find the perfect boot, it might be worth knowing.
