At the San Román Podiatric Medicine Clinic we care about the health of your feet; therefore, we will explain to you the benefits of minimally invasive surgery in treating bunions or hammer toes.
We have 40 years of experience performing minimally invasive surgeries and specialisation in the treatment of foot deformities, especially bunions and claw or hammer toes.
Our medical and podiatry team is led by the doctors of San Román, pioneers in percutaneous foot surgery in Europe. We can talk properly about this subject.
Benefits of having minimal invasive surgery
In every medical center in the world, patients are the main foundation. In our case, our effort is aimed at providing you with a comprehensive, quality and personalised service.
Our medical team is prepared to detail the results, in the future, of each treatment that requires surgery, taking into account that, depending on the medical condition, it can vary from one patient to another.
Our treatments for minimally invasive surgery have the following advantages:
- You can perfectly walk without any support since it is an ambulatory (day-case) surgery.
- During the post-operative period you will feel minimal discomfort.
- With local anesthesia, you do not feel the common complications of general anesthesia.
- Recovery is faster thanks to millimetre-like incisions that also produces little post-operative pain since it does not touch soft tissues or joints.
- Our surgeries do not require screw or wire fixation.
- The risk of infections is minimal, but healing is much better and faster.
- Long term results are excellent.
What are bunions and how do they develop?
Toe deformities, especially bunions, are very common; in fact, a high percentage of the population of Spain has this type of pathology.
At San Román Podiatric Medicine Clinic, bunions are the main reason why patients attend consultations with our podiatrists.
Bunions are a deformity that deflects the big toe causing the other toes to also suffer from alterations. There are cases in which claw or hammer toes or bunions develop independently.
In other words, the bunion deflects the big toe towards the second toe, pressing and deforming it too.
You should know that the big toe has two phalanges while the rest has three bones: proximal, middle and distal.
The bones join and form the joints and tendons allow the toes to move; these are called extenders and flexors.
Why does this deformity appear?
- The type of footwear.
- The structure of your foot
- Previous injuries
- Inflammatory diseases
It should be noted that the impact of bunions affects the other toes, deforming them. For that reason, at the San Román Clinic we recommend correcting bunions to prevent deformed toes.
In this way, you will also avoid more complex and painful surgical treatments.
Claw or hammer toes
In the case of claw or hammer toes, the deformity is caused by an imbalance in the structure of tendons, ligaments and muscles of the toes. This specific deformity is known as claw, gooseneck or hammer.
This imbalance is generated due to constant pressure, anatomical alterations or neurological disorders. It is produced by a posterior flexion of the phalanx above the metatarsophalangeal joint and flexion of the proximal and distal joints.
What can cause this type of deformity?
- Type of footwear, especially those with a pointed toe and a high heel
- Bunions; they cause instability and deform the other toes.
- Previous injuries, such as surgery that caused joint damage.
- Inherited muscular structure.
- Age is another factor. Over time you are prone to toe deformities.
- Women are more likely to have claw or hammer toes.
- The size of your toes. If your second toe is longer than the first, it will be prone to claw toes.
- Some diseases such as diabetes can cause claw toes.
In the early stages of the condition, the deformity usually goes unnoticed since when the deformity is mild you can still use any shoe without discomfort or pain.
However, over time, hammer toes can get worse and dislocate, stiffening the joints and causing discomfort and a lot of pain.
To identify the stage in which your hammer toes are located, we will define the degrees of stiffness:
Flexible: Toes may be deformed, but when you place your foot on a flat surface, the toes straighten.
Semi-rigid: At this stage there is a deformity, but the toes do not straighten when you place the foot on a flat surface or press them manually.
Rigid: When hammer toes are stiff they present a severe and rigid deformity. This stage is painful and annoying when you wear shoes.
The podiatrist, following a clinical examination of the foot, must diagnose the stage in which the deformity is. When the deformity does not disappear during the evaluation and the expert determines that it is in the rigid stage, the immediate treatment is the minimum invasive surgery.
Minimally invasive surgery for the treatment of bunions and claw or hammer toes
In case of bunions, it is advisable to do minimum invasive surgery to correct the deformity and avoid claw or hammer toes. This deviation, known as bunions, can be mild, moderate or severe.
If your case is severe, the bony protrusion on the big toe should be prominent and, in the short term, it will affect the second toe, deforming it too.
That is why we recommend surgery to correct that protrusion and take care of the health of your feet. At San Román Podiatric Medicine Clinic we evaluate your case to determine if you require surgery via a minimally invasive technique. This will depend on the degree of deformation of your big toe.
The San Román Clinic is located in the centre of Alicante; we have multiple options for preventative medicine and comprehensive treatments for foot conditions.
We have a qualified staff, efficient specialists and experts who will provide you attention in Spanish, German, French and English, but we also have an interpreter service for Russian and Arab patients.
After a thorough physical evaluation, our podiatry doctors will tell you if you need minimal invasive surgery to treat bunions or hammer toes.
