Recently I am seeing a lot of patients with big toe pain and swelling. I believe it is probably the nice weather and we are all getting outside and enjoying the Pacific Northwest. The summer is short-lived around here! The majority of these patients have arthritis of the big toe or great toe and are experiencing difficulty exercising. It is fairly easy to diagnosis this condition with testing the range of motion of the toe and x-ray.

Typically I am able to offer some great conservative measures that provide significant pain relief. However, a few people will be better candidates for surgical intervention. There are two types of surgical intervention what we call joint sparing and joint destructive procedures. When possible I prefer to preform joint sparing so patients retain motion of that toe. But, some patients possess pathology that is too far gone and require a fusion of that joint. I am excited to be able to offer an alternative to fusion.

This is a new implant that acts as a joint spacer that has great results and I am one of the only surgeons in the Pacific Northwest to offer this advanced technique. The implant is called Cartiva and acts as a joint spacer to provide pain relief and preserve motion of the arthritic joint. It is a great alternative to anybody contemplating fusion. If you live in Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, Issaquah, Tacoma, Everett, Alaska, Oregon give us a call at 425-391-8666 or visit us online.