Bunions stick out like sore thumbs — literally. You can’t miss the enlargement of the bone around the base of your big toe, or in the case of a bunionette, around your little toe.
Regardless of your bunion’s location, it likely developed for one reason: long-term stress on your toe joint.
You’re most at risk for bunions if you wear tight, pointed, high-heeled shoes, have an underlying condition like arthritis, have experienced repeated foot stress or injuries, or have a family history of bunions.
Unfortunately, once a bunion has started, there’s no going back. Before you start planning surgery, our team at Somers Orthopaedic Surgery has some good news. Not all bunions require surgery.
If your bunion isn’t painful or affecting your daily life or foot mechanics, chances are you don’t need surgery. This is especially true if you catch your bunion in its earliest stages, which is why it’s important to know if you’re at risk for bunions.
Mild bunions often respond well to wearing supportive shoes and other preventive care measures that can slow down bunion progression and help you sidestep the operating room.
Pain is one of the first indicators that your bunion needs surgical removal. Bunion pain can become so severe that it impacts your daily life and makes simple tasks difficult.
You’re also a candidate for surgery if you:
We also consider the treatments you’ve tried in the past. If you’ve tried and failed to address your bunion with conservative measures, that tells us your bunion has progressed and now needs surgery.
During bunion surgery, we use advanced surgical techniques to carefully correct your toe deformity, restore alignment to the joint, and repair soft tissue around the big toe.
Our team is proud to offer Lapiplasty® bunion correction, which takes traditional bunion surgery a step further.
Most surgeons cut and shift your bone into place within the joint. Lapiplasty involves 3D bunion correction, which ensures that the entire bone returns to proper alignment. During your procedure, we reinforce the unstable joint in the middle of your foot where your bunion problem begins, ensuring long-term stability.
Post-surgery studies show that 97% of Lapiplasty patients maintained their results at 13 months.
If you had to have bunion surgery, your next steps should focus on bunion prevention strategies. We recommend investing in comfortable, supportive shoes with a wide toe box and wearing them exclusively or at least most of the time.
You know you have a good pair of shoes if there’s space between the tip of your longest toe and the end of your shoes. They should also conform to the shape of your feet without squeezing, pinching, or pressing any part of your foot.
Your bunion might be all you see right now, but when you team up with us, we show you a path to a pain-free life.
If you’d like more information about your treatment options, call or click to speak with one of our experts today.
