The Doctors: Toe Shortening for a Long Big Toe

This past week on The Doctors, a young lady was featured having a surgery done on her big toe. The surgery was done because she had an abnormally long big toe on both of her feet. Now for her, the main concern was that they looked funny. But for her podiatrist, the concern was more for a normal foot structure. In a typical foot, your second toe is either the same as or longer than the first. This relationship between your first and second toe is important for normal walking, because you are not able to push yourself forward while walking as easily when your first toe is that much longer.

So, what exactly has to be done? Well, Dr. Ali Sadrieh, a podiatrist in Beverly Hills, explained that you remove a small piece of bone from the metatarsal (the bone that is right before your toe in the foot) and this shortens the bone. Now, the most important part is that the surgery is a joint sparing procedure. The importance of this is that you are not messing with the ligaments in the area and you are maintaining the same motion at that toe.

So, the thing that most of you are concerned about is the post-surgical result. How will toe-shortening affect your lifestyle? Well, you will have stitches in your toe for about 2 weeks after the surgery that in the majority of cases will leave a very minimal scar that will be barely noticeable. You will also have some swelling, because any time that you do a surgery there is going to be healing of the skin and the bone that has to occur. So, with all of the healing cells in  your body rushing to the area to help repair your toe, you are going to have some swelling for a while to help the surgical site close up. The final result is a shorter toe that will allow a better walking pattern and less wear and tear on your shoes. As for the young lady on The Doctors, she was very impressed with your results and says she is looking forward to going shoe shopping.

If you or someone you know has a very long first toe that is causing you pain while walking or is causing unusual amounts of wear and tear on your shoes, you can schedule an appointment with Dr. Wachtel by calling (978) 794-8406. Surgery is not the only option and is not right for every patient. However, there are changes that can be made to your shoes to help you achieve a normal walking pattern. If you live in the Methuen, Tewksbury, North Reading or Bradford, Massachusetts areas, our office staff would be more than happy to help you schedule an appointment.