Throughout the years there have been a multitude of surgical treatment options for patients dealing with painful bunion deformities. Traditional bunion surgery has focused on using an open approach that involves cutting the bone and shifting its place in 2D (two dimensional axis). For more severe bunion deformities, fixation and correction has been focused on the correction at the CORA or joint axis. With both of these procedures patients typically end up with a 3-6 cm scar.
Percutaneous or minimally invasive bunion surgery has been performed since the 1940’s and has been part of of surgical algorithms for a large number of podiatrist. With the recent advancement of surgical tools and internal fixation there has been a recent surge towards minimally invasive surgery.
The largest advantage is minimally invasive bunion surgery is the size of the incision. With the decrease in size of surgical incisions, patients have related increased satisfaction from a cosmetic standpoint. Patients also relate quicker return to weight-bearing and overall easier post-operatively course.
Another advantage to this technique is having the back-up option of converting to an open procedure if complications occur during the procedure.
Some patients may not meet the criteria for minimally invasive bunion surgery based on their deformity. From a surgical standpoint, the degree of difficulty increases based on this technique.
Every patient has their own unique foot structure with vary degrees of deformity and flexibility. Make an appointment today with one of our podiatric surgeons to see if minimally invasive bunion surgery is right for you!
