Should I get a Lapiplasty bunionectomy?

Meridian and Caldwell Podiatrists Explain Why a Lapiplasty Bunionectomy May Help

A bunion is a bony bump that forms at or around the base of the big toe. Although bunions pose little risk of serious complications, they’re often a source of daily pain and affect a person’s gait over time, which may cause further problems in the knees, hips, and back. Conventional treatments, like footwear changes and over-the-counter medications, sometimes relieve irritating bunion symptoms—but they rarely address the underlying cause. Even certain types of surgery don’t always correct the deformities that cause bunions to develop, so the bony protrusions might reappear.

Rocky Mountain Foot & Ankle’s experienced team of board-certified surgeons has spent decades practicing results-oriented podiatric medicine. We could help you explore your best options for a full recovery—which could include lapiplasty, an advanced bunion correction procedure that offers fast recovery times and the possibility of alleviating the problem once and for all.

Understanding Bunions

Bunions are a painful deformity of the metatarsophalangeal joint at the base of the big toe. The bone shifts sideways, which frequently pushes the big toe toward the smaller ones, causing inflammation and near-constant discomfort. It’s unclear what exactly causes bunions, but they seem to be influenced by numerous factors including, but not limited to:

Podiatrist examining patient's foot with bunion considering lapiplasty | Experienced Idaho Podiatrist

Arthritis and other medical conditions

Genetics

Poorly fitting footwear

Limitations of Conventional Bunion Surgery

For decades, traditional bunion surgery relied on a two-dimensional approach to removal. Doctors cut the deformed bone in half before strategically reconstructing the joint. This procedure could reduce inflammation and restore the big toe’s ordinary appearance.

However, conventional bunion surgeries suffer from a critical limitation. Although they can relieve discomfort and mitigate pain, two-dimensional procedures are akin to a simple rearrangement of bones—they might temporarily correct a bunion’s appearance but don’t actually amend the underlying deformity.

Advantages of a Lapiplasty Bunionectomy

Lapiplasty is a much more advanced procedure, which uses cutting-edge instrumentation to correct a deformed big toe joint in all three dimensions.

Instead of simply rearranging a bunion for a more normal appearance, this technique involves restoring toe alignment and stabilizing the metatarsophalangeal joint. It also restores the natural shape of the foot anatomy. Here are the advantages most patients experience after a lapiplasty.

Faster Recovery Time

Conventional bunion correction surgeries require extensive preparation and a lengthy recovery time. In most cases, patients cannot place any significant weight on their foot for six full weeks and may still need assistive walking devices for some time afterward.

However, lapiplasty patients only require several days of rest before they can support themselves using a surgical boot. Patients can typically switch to tennis shoes six to eight weeks after surgery.

Enhanced Mobility

After a conventional bunion surgery, the patient’s foot is usually placed inside a cast. For the first six weeks of post-surgical treatment, most people need to use crutches or a scooter to navigate everyday life—posing a considerable challenge for adults who have obligations outside of the house, yet lack access to a wheelchair- or scooter-friendly vehicle.

Lapiplasty, in contrast, rarely requires any mobility aids. You may have to use a surgical boot, but won’t likely have to make any other lifestyle changes.

Future Peace of Mind

Lapiplasty procedures typically take less than an hour to complete, from start to finish. Although recovery can last up to six weeks, most patients feel secure knowing that their bunions are much less likely to come back.

In fact, lapiplasty is so successful, it’s often recommended as a solution to people whose bunions returned after receiving conventional surgeries.