Dr. Timothy Young, board certified foot and ankle surgeon, talks about hallux limitus surgery for arthritic bone spur removal of the great toe.

Arthritis of the great toe is very common. Usually there is excessive compression on the top of the joint, and over months to years, painful bone spurs or osteophytes can develop. These create even more pressure and pain, and there is often bone on bone contact between these bone spurs. Removal of the bone spur is a very effective treatment for this problem. This surgery is called a cheilectomy. Cheilectomy surgery for arthritis of the great toe is quite straightforward and has a rapid recovery. Cheilectomy surgery is the most basic and simple procedure, from a surgical perspective for this condition.

There are more and fall procedures that can be done such as a decompression osteotomy of the bone, or fusion of the joint. These procedures usually require significant additional protection and recovery time. The surgical procedure itself involves access to the joint with an incision through the tissue layers including the joint capsule. The bone spurs are then exposed and removed surgically. This also involves using a surgical bur to smooth down the top of the joint. It is quite common to fine small loose fragments of bone, which are also removed during the procedure. If there are loose flaps of cartilage, and failure removed and the exposed bone can be drilled to create a fibrocartilage patch.

The joint and wound is flushed and then the layers are repaired and sutured. Recovery involves using a surgical shoe or cast boot. Initially putting weight on the heel for the first few days, and after that for weight with a surgical shoe or cast boot works well. Sutures are typically removed 2 weeks after the surgery. Most of our patients stay in the boot for 3 weeks.

If you are experiencing foot and ankle pain, give us a call today at 425-391-8666 or make an appointment online.