Just say no to cosmetic foot surgery

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Rheumawire

Mar 18, 2004

Just say no to cosmetic foot surgery

San Francisco, CA - Fully half of orthopedic foot and ankle surgeons

have treated patients for foot problems resulting from cosmetic foot

surgeries even though the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society

(AOFAS) cautioned against such surgeries in the fall of 2003 in a formal

position statement.

There are no exact statistics on the number of people who undergo

cosmetic foot surgery, but it appears to be a growing trend among women

wishing for " toe cleavage, " shorter toes, narrower feet, or less

bony-looking feet. Such procedures are performed solely to change the

appearance of the foot not to improve function or reduce pain.

However, in addition to changing appearance, " these types of surgeries

change the biomechanics of the foot, " says Dr Sharon Dreeben (La Jolla,

CA). " Changing the shape of the foot to make it narrower or the length

of the foot by shortening toes can cause patients to incur problems such

as nerve damage or chronic pain, sometimes not only preventing patients

from wearing high heels but forcing them into specially fitted shoes or

to use orthotic inserts that may be necessary give them relief from

their chronic foot pain. "

In late December, after media reports of an increase in cosmetic foot

surgery, the AOFAS warned that the risks outweighed the benefits and

that cosmetic foot surgery " should not be considered in any

circumstances. "

In the survey of 150 foot and ankle surgeons taken within the past 6

months, half said their patients were asking for cosmetic foot surgery

and the majority surveyed (82%) said they thought cosmetic foot surgery

was inappropriate.

A second survey of consumers found that 26% of patients said they would

consider cosmetic foot surgery to wear high heels or make their feet

look prettier. This interactive consumer survey was conducted on the

website footcareMD.com, a web site created by the AOFAS.

The survey of consumers found that 19% of women wear 2-inch heels most

often, 12% wear 3-inch heels or higher, and 89% wear 1-inch heels or

flat shoes most often. And 52% of women surveyed say they had felt pain

while wearing high heels and 27% said that pain persisted after taking

the shoes off.

Mann

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org