Spire Cardiff Hospital's Centre of Excellence for Orthopaedic Care is pleased to offer the addition of a new technique to it's range of treatments, keyhole (minimally invasive) surgery for bunions (Hallux Valgus). Mr Anthony Perera is one of just a handful of surgeons across the UK to be selected to provide the technically demanding procedure of minimally invasive surgery for bunions. Mr Perera has an extensive forefoot practice and trained directly with Dr Joel Vernois the French surgeon who introduced the technique
What are Bunions?
Bunions (also called Hallux Valgus) are a painful swelling caused by deformity of the big toe. As this swelling is caused by a bone it can be very unforgiving in shoes which can rub on it causing pain, particularly formal foot shoes or high heels. This is especially unfortunate as it is a more common condition in women.
High heels are usually blamed for having caused the problem but usually there will be a history of bunions in the family.
What treatments are available for bunions?
Fortunately many bunions never go on to cause problems other than the cosmetic appearance. The easiest option is to try different shoes or padding however this is not the answer for everyone. The various straps and braces that are commercially available are not proven to work.
Surgery is a very successful treatment for bunions and should be considered if you are having pain that is affecting your function on a regular basis, for instance pain during sports or wearing work shoes. It is important, however, that you select the right surgeon; ensuring that you are seen by a Consultant Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Surgeon who has undergone specialist training in an international centre (a Fellowship) is highly importmant. There are many different surgical techniques described and it is important that your surgeon is expert in several of these so that you have the one that is best for your unique deformity, rather than a ‘one-size fits all’ approach.
What are the advantages of having keyhole big toe bunion or arthritis surgery rather than the older traditional ‘open’ technique that most surgeons use?
The obvious difference is the fact that rather than having a 5 or 6 cm scar on the inside of the big toe and a 2.5cm incision on the outside of the toe, through keyhole surgery leaves just 2 or 3 small incisions of just 3mm each. These incisions heal extremely well and are barely visible with excellent cosmetic appearances, in fact they are so small they don’t even require any stitches!
The real advantage though is on the inside. The smaller incisions cause much less tissue damage and so cause less tissue trauma. This results in less pain, less swelling and less deep scar tissue which can limit the movement in the toe. This also means that you can be mobilise earlier, with less difficulty. The research also shows that there is less post-operative infection than the traditional approach.
You should expect to be able to walk immediately after surgery, wear high heels after approximately 2-3 weeks and be back to sport by approximately 3-4 weeks. This is a substantial improvement on the traditional approach.
What is ‘keyhole’ big toe surgery (also known as Minimally Invasive Surgery or MIS)?
The latest techniques use State of the Art instruments specially designed to be able to perform surgery through a 3mm incision. Therefore the only real difference to an open operation is the size of the scar, this is very important as it is different to other keyhole techniques, meaning the bony part of the operation is compromised just to allow a smaller scar.
For further information or to arrange an appointment with Mr Anthony Perera call 029 2073 1112.