It’s not as bad as it sounds. Over the past 16 years of treating my near and dear podiatry patients in Parkchester and all over the Bronx, I have met a lot of people, discussed a lot of procedures and repaired a lot of bunions (among many other maladies and deformities). So is it true that a screw is used in bunion surgery? Read on my dear patient.

As we have discussed before, a bunion is the condition in which the toe starts to drift west and a large bone develops on the side of the joint. The definitive treatment is surgery, which works well with surprisingly few complications and little pain. Now, as part of the procedure, it is necessary to place a small screw to hold the position. Once the bone heals, the screw is no longer necessary but is typically left in the foot.

The screw is made of titanium, a strong reactive metal that:

• Doesn’t react with the body
• Doesn’t usually need to be removed
• Can’t be felt, even in the cold
• Doesn’t set off metal detectors

In some cases if the screw becomes painful due to irritation of internal structures, it can be removed in a simple procedure with a short recovery, but I don’t want to remove a screw any more than you want to have it removed.

So kids, now you know. You can be one of the many patients screwed by the Bronx podiatrist. And be better for it.

If you have any questions about minimally invasive bunion surgery, contact our office at 718-863-3338 to set up a consultation.

See you in the office.

Ernest Isaacson