Cosmetic foot surgery is somewhat of a touchy subject for a lot of orthopedic surgeons. Is it right to surgically alter an otherwise perfectly functioning foot just so the patient can fit into a pair of high heels? Should the decision simply be left to the person paying the bills?
Doing bunion surgery solely to fit into expensive specialty high heels is not something that surgeons commonly deal with.
However, expecting women to accept Oxford or orthopedic style shoes is ridiculous. Bunion deformities (if treated with accommodating shoes) cause many other problems for the foot. Bunions cause arthritis of the first metatarsal phalangeal joint, overload, and stress fractures of the second metatarsal, hammer toes, and midfoot arthritis, just for starters.
Nonsurgical treatment of a bunion is actually less conservative than surgical treatment as it permits the risk of development of all these other problems.
This prompts a challenging question. If a woman walks into my office with a mildly symptomatic bunion deformity that bothers her mostly while wearing high heels, do I treat her non-surgically? Do I let her develop deformities of her second toe which are much more complicated than a bunion to treat and have less satisfactory results?
Orthopedic surgeons routinely grapple with these difficult situations. Ultimately, we have to work closely with the patient to determine the best course of action.
Related Sources:
journalofhaitianstudies.org
