PALM BEACH, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Up to 60 percent of adults over 65 suffer from bunions: a painful foot deformity. Now a new procedure using state- of- the- art technology is fixing the problem and getting patients back on their feet faster.
Carrie Lepofsky is a self-described shoe-a-holic. But severe bunions slowed her down.
“The leather of the shoe doesn’t really cover the bunion, so you do the best to kind of smush it in there and then it hurts,” Lepofsky said.
Like most patients she feared surgery because that meant being off her feet for two months.
“Traditional bunion surgery had a poor success rate,” said Adam Katz, DPM, FACFAS, Board Certified in Foot Surgery, American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgeons.
Dr. Katz says the deformity of the joint connecting the big toe to the foot can be genetic but made worse by certain shoes. He says previous surgeries shaved off the bump but didn’t stabilize the joint, allowing the metatarsal bone to drift out of alignment.
“There’s a high recurrence rate, a lot of patients were unhappy,” said Dr. Katz.
Now, Dr. Katz is using a new procedure called lapiplasty that addresses all three dimensions of the joint.
“That’s what the lapiplasty does, we correct all three planes, we de-rotate it, we move it back over,” Dr. Katz explained.
Then titanium plate technology by Treace is used to permanently secure the joint, which allows rapid weight bearing. Lepofsky had her right foot done a few months ago. She’ll have her left foot done early next year.
“This was the bunion here. In shock. It’s a miracle, that’s all I can say, it’s a miracle,” said Lepofsky.
Two weeks after the procedure Lepofsky was walking in a boot. Six weeks later she was showing off her new shoes!
“I walk around with my sandals and I’m not self-conscious,” Lepofsky said.
Happy she finally took the step to correct her painful problem.
The procedure is covered by most insurance companies because bunions are considered a medical condition. For more information about the lapiplasty procedure please visit https://www.treace.com/lapiplasty/
Contributors to this news report include: Janna Ross, Field Producer; Judy Reich, Videographer; Cyndy McGrath, Supervising Producer; Hayley Hudson, Assistant Producer; Robert Walko, Editor.
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MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS
RESEARCH SUMMARY
TOPIC: BANISH BUNIONS FOR GOOD!
REPORT: MB #4503
BACKGROUND: A bunion is a painful bony bump that develops on the inside of the foot at the big toe joint. Bunions are often referred to as hallux valgus. Bunions develop slowly. Pressure on the big toe joint causes the big toe to lean toward the second toe. Over time, the normal structure of the bone changes, resulting in the bunion bump. This deformity will gradually increase and may make it painful to wear shoes or walk. Anyone can get a bunion, but they are more common in women. Many women wear tight, narrow shoes that squeeze the toes together—which makes it more likely for a bunion to develop, worsen and cause painful symptoms. In most cases, bunion pain is relieved by wearing wider shoes with adequate toe room and using other simple treatments to reduce pressure on the big toe.
(Source: https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases–conditions/bunions/)
SURGERY: You may need bunion surgery if you have severe foot pain that happens even when walking or wearing flat, comfortable shoes. Surgery may also be needed when chronic big toe inflammation and swelling isn’t relieved with rest or medicines. As with any surgical procedure, complications can happen. Some possible complications may include stiffness, numbness, swelling, delayed healing, and infection. Other complications may include recurrence of the bunion, nerve damage, and continued pain. The surgery may also result in overcorrection of the problem, in which the big toe extends away from the other toes.
(Source: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/test_procedures/orthopaedic/bunion_surgery_92,p07678)
LAPIPLASTY: Lapiplasty is a paradigm shift in thinking about bunion deformity and its surgical correction. It allows the surgeon, for the first time, to automate a three-plane (transverse, frontal and sagittal) bunion correction and fuse the tarsal-metatarsal (TMT) joint in the corrected alignment. According to founder John T. Treace, correcting the frontal plane deformity is likely the “missing link” in traditional bunion surgery. “Recent studies indicate that in about 85% of bunion patients the metatarsal bone is rotated valgus (or pronated) in the frontal plane in addition to being translated in the transverse plane. The frontal plane has historically been overlooked and unaddressed in the surgical management of the bunion,” said Treace.
(Source: https://ryortho.com/2016/06/lapiplasty/)
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Eberhardt, MSL Group
781-684-6562
If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Marjorie Bekaert Thomas at mthomas@ivanhoe.com
