Good news for the millions of people throughout the country suffering from bunions: lapiplasty is a recently developed treatment with the potential to exceed the results of traditional bunion surgery. Left untreated, this common foot deformity can cause increasing pain and discomfort that eventually limits basic activities.

Lapiplasty has been shown to:

• Address the unstable joint causing bunion pain
• Correct all the dimensions contributing to a bunion
• Avoid cutting or shifting of the bone
• Improve the appearance of a bunion

Bunion patients should first treat bunions with conservative methods such as rest, anti-inflammatory medications, and custom-made shoe inserts. However, if these types of treatments don’t resolve the issue, lapiplasty may be your best option for getting back on your feet, pain-free.

What Is a Bunion? 

Bunions are widely understood as a deformity of the foot that can be brought on by genetics, use of high heels, or other factors. However, few people realize that this potentially debilitating condition stems from an unstable joint in the mid-foot region near the metatarsal bone.

Not everyone who has a bunion experiences pain. But patients with severe problems, such as difficulty walking more than a few blocks without significant pain, should talk to an orthopaedic physician about possible treatments such as lapiplasty.

What Is Lapiplasty?

Lapiplasty is an advanced procedure that significantly corrects the metatarsal bone, restores it to its proper alignment, and also helps remove the bump and straighten the toe. For the correction to be secured in place, the unstable joint is typically fused with titanium plates. The recovery process may require physical therapy (PT) to regain your strength and flexibility, however, recurrences are possible in some patients.

Who Is a Candidate for Lapiplasty? 

Several symptoms indicate you may be a candidate for lapiplasty. The most common ones include:

1. Foot pain that significantly hinders daily activities like walking
2. Chronic inflammation and swelling of the big toe
3. Stiffness that reduces the big toe’s ability to bend and straighten
4. The big toe drifting inward toward the smaller toes to an extreme degree

A serious condition such as rheumatoid arthritis could also be causing that pain and swelling in your toe joint. If you’re suffering from any kind of foot pain, talk to your doctor. If your discomfort persists despite previous treatments and lapiplasty isn’t an option, surgery may still be necessary. 

Dr. Svetlana Zats is a certified expert in lapiplasty at MidAmerica Orthopaedics. To make an appointment with Dr. Zats or to ask about other foot and ankle treatments, contact us today. Our Foot and Ankle Clinic gives patients access to the most advanced diagnostics tools for diagnosing and treating bunions so patients can get back to a physically active lifestyle ASAP.