It’s an attention grabbing title isn’t it? Well sorry kids it’s a bit of a misnomer. It’s a common question, but no there actually isn’t a laser procedure for bunion correction- not as far as I know and not in this decade. However, there is a great new old procedure that is now available and the subject of this week’s holy blog, that is, minimally invasive bunion surgery.
As we have discussed more times than most people want to hear, the traditional bunionectomy involves an open incision on the side of the foot, realigning the joint and then closing the incision. The procedure works great with surprisingly little downtime and few complications. Over the past few decades there has been a distinct trend in surgery toward minimally invasive procedures – from appendectomies, to vascular procedures, to orthopedics, and even heart valve replacements. And now, I’m excited to offer minimally invasive bunionectomies.
What is minimally invasive bunion surgery?
Minimally invasive bunion procedures have been around for years – and for good reason – less cutting means less pain, faster recovery and even sexier scars. The original version of this procedure has been performed many times in the past, often in an office setting; now there is an innovative improvement to the procedure, namely the placement of a screw to hold the correction in place, which allows for immediate walking and minimizes the chance of any shifting of the bone after surgery.
That means even large deformities can be corrected with a very small incision with immediate full weightbearing. And this improved procedure has been proven effective through clinical data and the experience of over 55,000 real patient cases.
Of course, different strokes for different folks, and every patient and bunion is different. However, this procedure has the potential to dramatically change the paradigm for correction of certain types and levels of bunion deformities. Not quite as intriguing as laser beams, but it’s still pretty good dinner table talk.
If you’re curious to see if you’d be a good fit for our minimally invasive bunion procedure, call our office at 212-420-6002 or visit us online to set up a consultation today.
See you in the office.
