Bunion Surgery

You may need bunion surgery if you have severe foot pain that happens even when walking or wearing flat, comfortable shoes. Surgery may also be needed when chronic big toe inflammation and swelling isn’t relieved with rest or medicines. Other reasons for surgery include toe deformity, a drifting in of the big toe toward the small toe, and an inability to bend and straighten the big toe. There may be other reasons for your healthcare provider to recommend bunion surgery.

Your surgeon may use a few different techniques during your bunion surgery, including:

• Exostectomy:During this surgery, your surgeon shaves off the bunion. Often, healthcare providers combine this approach with osteotomy to reposition the toe. This procedure is rarely done and in only the most minor bunions.
• Osteotomy: Your surgeon makes a few small incisions in the bones. Then the surgeon uses screws or pins to realign your big toe joint. This is the most commonly performed procedure for bunions.
• Arthrodesis:Sometimes, arthritis inflammation can lead to bunions. In arthrodesis joint fusion, your surgeon removes any parts of the big toe joint that have arthritis. Your surgeon then places screws in the toe to hold the bones together while they heal. This surgery is only done with the most severe of bunions.

Some possible complications from surgery, such as:

• The bunion comes back.
• The surgery doesn’t correct the problem enough, or overcorrects it so that your toe now points inward.
• The pain continues.
• You can’t move your big toe as well as before.

After bunion surgery, you can take steps to prevent bunions from coming back. One of the most common causes of bunions is wearing tight-fitting shoes. Be aware that returning to wearing a too-tight shoe may cause bunions to return. Additionally, an orthotic may be helpful in preventing recurrence if the cause of the bunion to begin with was a flatter foot type. Stretching may also be helpful if tight calf muscles were the cause of the bunion.