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Not Everyone Knows Their Bunions!

This news item was added on 1st February 2008

Foot and ankle surgery is a rapidly growing specialty within Orthopaedics, with ankle and first metatarsophalangeal replacements now being performed.

The British Orthopaedic Foot Surgical Society, BOFSS is thriving and has provided critical reviews of some of the treatment options for problems within the foot as well as providing a forum for education and instruction in some new and exciting modern innovations in foot and ankle surgery, also suggesting methods of improving problems resulting from previous forms of treatment to this area of the body.

One of the more commonly encountered foot disorders, *Hallux Valgus (bunions) is a foot deformity characterised by lateral deviation of the large toe. In some people the deviation is so great that the large toe overlaps the 2nd toe (A). The 1st metatarsal bone shifts laterally and the sesamoid bones shift medially (B). Often the surrounding tissues swell and the resultant pressure and friction against the shoe cause a bursa to form, when tender and inflamed, the bursa is called a bunion, which has historically been treated surgically by many different procedures.

More recently the development of the ‘scarf’ osteotomy (taken from a method of joining two pieces of wood together in a mechanically stable fashion in carpentry) has streamlined the surgical options with its versatility and predictable results.

With the introduction of minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery into the field, which is used for both exploration and treatment of ankle and first metatarsophalangeal joint problems, together with the assessment and treatment of elective problems, the understanding and management of foot and ankle trauma has come forward considerably in the last decade and now forms a significant portion of the workload.

This procedure is available at The South Cheshire Private Hospital, if you do not have private medical insurance please contact either Emma or Lesley on 01270 656200 and they will be able to quote you a price under our “Option” self pay surgery scheme. A letter of referral from your GP to the relevant consultant will be required prior to surgery.