No Scar / Painless Bunion Surgery

A bunion is a bump found on the side of the foot that can cause debilitating pain. Not all patients who have bunions suffer from bunion pain. But for those who have pain, experience pain for years, this affects a person’s daily activities and lifestyle.

Basically, a bunion is a protrusion at the joint of the big toe.  The distal end of the first metatarsal bone deviates outwards, while the tip big toe deviate inwards, making the joint between the big toe and first metatarsal bone to protrude outward.  This is commonly due to wearing high pointy shoes. That’s why bunions are typically seen in women.

There are a lot of non-operative techniques for bunion pain but all of these provide only temporary relief. You maybe pain-free for a few days or weeks, but the pain will eventually come back.

The best way to permanently treat bunions and its associating pain is thru surgery. Many people think that bunion surgery is very painful and leaves you with a big ugly scar. This is the main reason why most patients shy away from bunion surgery. This is actually true, the traditional approach of bunion surgery requires a very large incision to manipulate and remove some bone from the bunion, making it very painful after surgery.

Fortunately, there is a new surgical technique called minimally invasive bunion surgery.  This procedure only requires a very small incision, about 5 mm. Then the first metatarsal bone is cut across, freeing the joint and big toe then the big toe and joint are carefully aligned and pinned in place with a medical grade stainless steel wire. The wire is eventually removed when the bones have fused together. Since there is very little manipulation and no bone is removed, pain and swelling is very minimal, making recovery time very short.