Podiatric Surgery

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal looked at an increasing trend among women to request cosmetic foot surgery. The article discusses women going to extreme surgical measures to fit into their high heels without pain. The problem with this is that the true function of podiatric surgeons is to relieve pain and correct deformities. Their training doesn’t really focus on procedures to allow women to fit into a narrower shoe. Those that support the procedures claim that by doing these surgeries before joints become arthritic, they are preventing future deformities from occurring. But any surgery carries a risk with it of course.

So what falls under the umbrella of podiatric surgery? Patients that complain of joint and ligament problems are offered a plethora of surgical solutions to fix their muscles, bones, and joints.

These can include:

-Debridement –removing dead tissue or foreign material from and around a wound to expose healthy tissue.

-Bunionectomy –the procedure of removing a bunion, which is a misalignment of the joints causing appearance of an enlargement of bone and soft tissue, at the joint at the base of the big toe.

-Tenotomy –the cutting of a tendon. This and other related procedures are also known as tendon release, tendon lengthening and heel-cord release of the Achilles tendon.

-Fasciotomy –a procedure to cut away the fascia, a thick band of connective tissue, to relieve tension or pressure.

These are just a few of the foot and ankle procedures that your podiatrist can perform. For these and any other questions about surgery and your foot care, come by and see Dr. Grimm or Dr. Pattison.