Lapiplasty Bunion Surgery
If you have a bunion that is as bothersome as it is painful, our podiatrists may recommend bunion surgery. Bunion surgery is the only way to permanently remove a bunion that has formed on your foot, all other treatments will focus on reducing the symptoms of the bunion.
Patients undergo surgery when in-office conservative treatments have not eased their pain or improved their mobility. Since bunions can get worse over time, a bunion can become so intrusive that the big toe begins to cross over the toe next to it, making this deformity one that needs to be addressed through surgical means.
Lapiplasty Versus Traditional Bunion Surgeries
Many different surgical approaches have been developed to remove bunions. The latest, and most advanced, significantly reduces the risk of recurrence by targeting the bunion’s root cause. This surgery is called lapiplasty.
Lapiplasty Bunion Surgery
In order to understand and appreciate what lapiplasty surgery is, it is important to first acknowledge that bunions are not just simple bony growths on the side of your foot that can be shaved off. Rather, bunions are complex deformities that develop when the joint at the base of the big toe becomes unstable. Lapiplasty bunion surgery focuses on fixing this unstable joint, repositioning it back to the correct place, and preventing it from becoming unstable again in the future.
Traditional Bunion Surgeries
Traditional bunion surgeries include osteotomy, exostectomy (bunionectomy), and resection arthroplasty. An osteotomy involves making small incisions to cut the bones in the big toe and realign them using pins, plates, and/or screws. An exostectomy does not realign the toe; instead, this procedure focuses on removing the bony growth. Resection arthroplasty creates an empty, flexible space in the toe by extracting the damaged tissue and allowing it to bend like a normal joint.
