Bunion surgery has advanced markedly in recent years. Traditionally the surgery has had a bad name. Procedures involved long recovery, large incisions, marked pain and poor outcome. This has all changed now; however, sadly, there still exist many surgeons who have not progressed.
This case is a perfect example. This was brought to my attention recently. The surgery on the left was carried out in the last 6 months! This would have involved multiple long incisions, marked pain, long recovery and poor outcome. You can see, even after all that unnecessary surgery and the hardware, the bunion deviation is still present only weeks after the surgery.
Note a recent case I carried out on the right. This is done through a very small incision, only requires a single 2 mm screw and has excellent correction with the realignment of the sesamoids under the metatarsal head. This was day surgery and the patient can gently bear weight immediately and will produce excellent and long-term success.
The percutaneous K wire and poor positioning for the hammertoe/2nd metatarsophalangeal joint (MTPJ) will be discussed later, as it sadly also shows a very poor outcome.
If you have any specific questions or would like to discuss similar cases, feel free to contact me.
Also read:
Juvenile hallux valgus (bunion)
The problems with keyhole bunion surgery
Biomechanics of a pathology (bunions and pes planus)
Bunion surgery: Modern procedures for quick recuperation and long-term results
(This content is intended for healthcare professionals only)