Things You Need to Know About Minimally Invasive Surgery

Minimally Invasive (MI) surgical techniques have gained popularity in many areas of surgery. As technology has advanced, the possibilities to operate and achieve an objective with less invasive techniques have broadened.

What is minimally invasive foot surgery?

This is a surgical technique where the operation is performed through very small incisions (only a few millimetres long). This is done in contrast to traditional surgery performed through large cuts on the foot.

What are its advantages?

Minimally invasive foot surgery has perceived advantages over open surgery since smaller  openings are made. Much less soft tissue  work is required in order to gain access to the bone and make the bony corrections. This may lead to:

• Reduced surgical time
• Less internal scarring
• Less damage to tissues
• Minimal external scarring –  Fewer stitches are needed
• Less joint stiffness
• Day-case surgery
• Quicker recovery time
• Faster return to work and normal activities

What foot conditions can be treated this way?

This technique is particularly useful in bunion surgery wherein very small scars and better joint movement can be achieved. Big toe arthritis and other toe deformities can also be successfully treated using this technique.

The wide array of foot conditions which can be treated include:

• Hammertoes
• Bunions
• Metatarsalgia - pain under the balls of the toes
• Bone spurs
• Morton’s Neuroma
• Plantar Fasciitis
• Big toe arthritis
• Some aspects of flat  foot surgery
• Some aspects of ankle arthritis surgery

How is minimally invasive foot surgery performed?

Just like in traditional surgery, the foot is numbed using an ankle block.  In most cases, 3-5mm incisions are placed  in the foot to allow access for the specialist’s instruments. An x-ray machine is essential to the operation to ensure the instruments are being directed accurately, ensuring precise bony cuts and therefore, resulting to an excellent correction.

Can any foot surgeon perform this kind of surgery?

  There  is specific training required in minimally invasive techniques. There  is also training courses.  A new range of surgical  instruments, not normally used in traditional open surgery are used and of course, these require a new set of technical skills to ensure mastery of the different surgical techniques. This requires both training and experience. Not all foot and ankle surgeons perform minimally invasive foot surgery.

Sheldon H. Nadal, DPM, is a podiatrist that performs this procedure.

Who are eligible for this procedure?

Most patients  with common feet deformities are eligible to have minimally invasive surgery.  You need to be evaluated by an experienced minimally invasive foot surgeon to determine if you are a good candidate. There are certain deformities that are too large to be corrected using minimally invasive techniques.

For more information on Minimally Invasive Foot Surgery, call Sheldon Nadal, DPM at (416) 486-9917.