Learn what causes bunions and how they can be fixed.
While a bunion is characterized by a hard bump on the side of your big toe, you may be surprised to learn that the bump is the result of a more complex deformity involving a loss of alignment, rather than a growth.
This condition, called hallux valgus, occurs when the first metatarsal in your big toe rotates out of alignment and causes your big toe to lean in and crowd your other toes. The head of the metatarsal juts outwards to form a bunion. Hallux valgus is a progressive condition that will not reverse without surgical correction.
Early signs of a bunion forming include the following:
As the hallux valgus deformity progresses, your bunion will become more prominent. Minimally invasive surgery can be used to treat bunions of any severity. The Arthrex Minimally Invasive Bunionectomy allows surgeons to customize the correction to treat your bunion, whether mild or extreme.
Left untreated, bunions can lead to other foot problems, including bursitis, metatarsalgia, hammertoe, and crossover toe, as well as arthritis.
Many people with mild bunions live pain-free and never require treatment. If your bunion is only mildly irritated, you can manage symptoms by wearing comfortable, roomy shoes, or applying moleskin, silicone, or gel pads to prevent rubbing. Orthotic inserts, bunion splints, toe spacers, and bunion correction sleeves or socks can reduce minor bunion discomfort caused by calluses and corns.
However, these short-term remedies will not straighten your toe permanently or keep your bunion from getting bigger and becoming more painful.
Also known as an exostectomy, a bumpectomy is rarely a successful long-term solution for bunions. This procedure shaves off or grinds away the bony bump, but it does not realign the bones in your foot that caused your bunion. Your bunion is likely to return and these “corrections” could complicate any revision procedures. Don’t confuse these “minimally invasive” procedures with the Arthrex Minimally Invasive Bunionectomy.
This surgery, usually called a Lapidus procedure, corrects the bunion deformity by fusing the joint at the base of the metatarsal. A small section of bone around this joint between the two bones is removed, and pins, screws, wires, and/or metal plates are used to permanently fuse the bones together. The joint will be rigid, meaning it can’t flex during the push-off phase of taking a step. Some foot surgeons consider surgical fusion to be a last resort for bunion correction. Once the joint is fused, there is no return to full mobility.
While a Lapidus fusion is one option for removing your bunion, it may not be the right one for you. Ask your local foot and ankle surgeon which procedure is best for your foot.
The Arthrex Minimally Invasive Bunionectomy allows your surgeon to customize correction to address the severity of your bunion. In addition to powerful correction that addresses your bunion symptoms, the Arthrex Minimally Invasive Bunionectomy provides additional benefits:
Surgeons using the Arthrex Minimally Invasive Bunionectomy procedure have been trained in minimally invasive surgery for bunion correction.
We are pleased to supply you with this Find a Doctor tool to locate Arthrex Bunionectomy doctors in your area.
While our database of doctors is large, it is not a complete listing of all doctors who can perform the Arthrex Bunionectomy procedure. The doctors included in this locator are limited to those doctors who have attended a training course specifically on minimally invasive surgery techniques. By inclusion of a particular doctor in this database, Arthrex expresses no opinion as to the professional skills or qualifications of the surgeon.
No physician has paid a fee to participate, nor does Arthrex make any recommendation or referral regarding any of these specific doctors.
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