The great toe with the bunion often goes underneath the second toe. As part of this the second toe further deviates out of alignment toward and sometimes over the second toe in combination. The second toe can gets so bad that we call it a crossover toe. When this happens, it's difficult to treat this without surgical repair. The surgical repair again involves repairing the bunion and the alignment of the great toe itself. As far as repairing the second toe. This often involves shortening the metatarsal and shifting it to help get the second toe back in alignment.
This is called a Weil osteotomy. The second metatarsal head is shifted in the same direction that the toe is deviated. This tends to get that joint–the second MTP joint back into alignment and straighten the crossover toe. This is always a challenging condition and it's not uncommon to have to pin the joint after the correction is done. We often have to do capsule work in the second MTP joint also to help release the tight contractures here and scar tissue. If you have concerns regarding bunions or second toe problems or even capsulitis specifically, we would be happy to see you in consultation either myself, or my partner Dr. Nelson.
If you are experiencing foot or ankle pain, give us a call at 425-391-8666 or contact us online for an appointment.