Forefoot Surgery

The term forefoot prefers to the end of the foot including the toes and bones attached to the toes. Significant number of problems can occur in the forefoot. Often these problems can be treated without surgery. However a small percentage of problems can only be cured with surgery.

One surgery involving the forefoot is bunion surgery. There are several different surgeries for bunions depending on the severity and cause of them. A bunion is when the big toe starts to move toward the outside and a bump forms on the inside of the big toe joint. The surgeries for bunions involve moving the toe back into alignment to reestablish the proper range of motion of the toe.

Another common surgery involving the forefoot is surgery to correct hammertoes. Hammertoes are when the smaller toes become contracted at the knuckles. This contracture causes the toes to have a hook like appearance. Hammertoes can cause pain in the knuckles, on the bottoms of his feet, and difficulty wearing shoes. The surgeries to correct hammertoes involve shortening the bones and releasing the tendons and ligaments to straighten the toes.

A third surgery involving the forefoot is surgery to correct neuromas. A neuroma is a pinched nerve in the ball of the foot. A neuroma is usually accompanied by pain in the ball of the foot and numbness in the toes. The surgeries to correct a neuroma involve removal of a nerve that is entrapped.

Forefoot surgery normally involves a fairly short postoperative period. In most cases it involves wearing a shoe or boot designed not to let the toes bend. In most cases tissue is only needed until the skin heals (usually 10 to 14 days).

The majority of problems with the forefoot do not need surgical intervention. However, if a problem does call for surgery delaying can allow the problem to progress and require a more complicated surgery to fix it.