Foot Bunion Surgery Canberra ACT, Minimally Invasive
ACT Podiatry is well equipped to manage bunions complaints, sometimes with special shoe inserts (foot orthoses) used in wide, deep and stable footwear but often via minimally invasive bunion surgery for moderate to severe cases of the disorder. A podiatric surgeon is attached to the Canberra practice and he is highly trained to select and undertake the most appropriate treatment for this deformity.
Bunion surgery will often involve bone cuts to straighten the toe or in more severe cases of bunions an arthrodesis procedure, which fuses the toe in a straightened position. Sometimes bunion surgery involves correction of the dislocated joint in addition to treating the painful arthritis present within the joint. Sometimes bunion surgery not only involves correction treatment of the big toe deformity, but also additional minimally invasive surgery, to correct for hammer toe deformities and secondary conditions, such as dorsal mid-foot arthritis.
The bone is usually fixated (or compressed together) with a single screw (or even Kirschner wire), but sometimes additional fixation is required, such as with a fusion. The bone work is only a component of the surgery and soft tissue techniques are also necessary to fully correct the deformed joint. Generally, the lateral, or outside structure of the joint need to be released and the medial (inside structures), the capsule of each bunion joint, need to be tightened.
After care is very important to address pain, swelling and to maintain the correction of the foot surgery. Splinting of each big toe in the corrected position may be necessary for 4-12 weeks, following the surgery, to ensure the best outcome. However, standing and walking will be allowed throughout this time.
Bunion surgery has a very high success rate and is usually associated with only mild amounts of pain. Remember most pain can be managed with good after care.
A hallux valgus deformity (bunion) is a common foot complaint, which tends to worsen over time, causing pain, disability and difficulty in finding comfortable footwear. Bunions are a serious complaint as they represent a progressive dislocation of the 1st metatarsophalangeal (or big toe) joint, and are directly associated with secondary problems, such as osteoarthritis in the affected joint itself, hammer toes and painful corns and callouses. Hammer toes, occur when the toes are positioned in a flexed, or bent position, which can cause increased rubbing and pressure to the tips and tops of the toes and also to the plantar forefoot (or the bottom of the front section of the foot). Sometimes hammer toes are complicated even further, by being positioned in an abnormal side-to-side direction, or if you like separated from each other. This can cause rubbing and also painful corn formation between the toes. Bunions can also be associated with osteoarthritis affecting the dorsal mid-foot, or the top central aspect of the foot, as they can cause increased compression to the joints in this area. Bunions, which cause the forefoot to widen, can contribute to forefoot bursitis and/or digital neuritis.
It can be seen that bunions are actually complex and often associated with more than one type of foot, or pedal concern.
Bunions tend to affect the middle to older age groups more than younger people. However, younger people can definitely have bunions and sometimes these need to be corrected with surgery. The most common age group, in which bunion corrective surgery is undertaken, is in the 6th decade of life (ie- between 50-60 years of age). Bunion surgery is more common in woman than men.
Bunions are particularly problematic in the diabetic patient or patients with inflammatory arthritis, where they have compromised skin and soft tissues and where healing is an issue. Bunions deform the foot subjecting it to skin irritation and even ulceration. Ulceration is a major problem as this predisposes the foot to infection.
Hallux valgus corrective surgery (bunion surgery) is highly reliable and effective at correcting this common primarily hereditary foot complaint. Modern day bunion surgery is usually undertaken under day case conditions, where the patient can leave the hospital on the same day they had their surgery. Patients from the hospital are usually able to walk immediately following their bunion surgery treatment, but should only do so in a padded compression dressing, whilst wearing a protective shoe(s).
