Painful Foot Surgery: Fact or Fiction

Foot pain is a relative thing. In my vast experience with foot and ankle surgery, most foot surgery is not painful. To clarify, patients tend to report pain levels at 2-4 out of ten. This is because of the advanced techniques that we employ.

So that there is no mystery, I will clearly outline these techniques. The bulk of pain relief is surgeon dependent. The remaining benefits rely on perioperative management of the operated limb.

Research clearly shows that the size and site of the incision directly contribute to the pain levels a patient indicates postoperatively. Therefore, we employ a minimal incision. Second, the site of our incision is placed so as to minimize lacerations to the sensory nerves. Lastly, we employ plastic surgical techniques in order to close the surgical wounds. In most cases, we use absorbable sutures. This is to avoid the pain associated with suture removal.

At the time of surgery, our practice places a pain management pump at the site of the incision. There is no narcotic used in the pain pump. Instead, local anesthetic is released from a fenestrated catheter over a period of approximately five days. This keeps the incision site almost completely numb. The most painful period after surgery is generally the second day, post op. This is because the local anesthetia given at the time of surgery wears off. By adding the pain pump, we can extend this period for days after. Dr. Mark Solomon has extensive experience with the pain pump for foot surgery and foot pain. The results are astounding.

Patients are instructed on proper foot elevation following the procedure. Additionally, a pain management regimen is custom tailored to each individuals specific needs and history.

Best Regards,
Mark Solomon, DPM FACFAS
Diplomate American Board of Podiatric Surgery

Foot Makeover

The Complete Foot Makeover.....
What does this mean?
Well, a visual explanation is always the best.
This is an example from the web.
As you can see, the four little toes had moderate to severe deformity. In addition, there is a mild bunion deformity. It appears that this was not corrected by the surgeon, based on the remaining bump on the medial side of the foot.. (Note: This is not my work.) The mild bunion deformity should have been corrected. It now abuts the second toe and over time will cause a lateral (outward) crook in the second toe at the distal joint(joint closer to the tip). Anyway, the point of this is not to critique other surgeon's work, but to illustrate the before and after photos. The foot on the right looks much nicer in comparison to the left photo. It almost certainly feels better as well. This patient can now slip on a pair of Manolo Blahnik's shoes without embarrassment.
All questions are welcome

Mission Statement

Hello and welcome.
The purpose of this blog is to discuss cosmetic foot surgery from a foot and ankle surgeon's perspective. In addition, it should be a source to demystify myths behind surgical procedures of the foot. Patient information and links will be readily available.

Understand, the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeon's official policy is not to endorse cosmetic foot surgery. In order to uphold these policies, I would like to state that I perform foot surgery with cosmetic techniques and not foot surgery. This means that there has to be either pain, deformity or dysfunction in order to be operated on. Conservative therapy must also be attempted and have failed in order to qualify for foot surgery. With the aforementioned disclaimer in mind, my goal is to provide a cosmetic result with minimal scarring and minimal pain.
My advanced training and desire to remain an expert in my field allows me to accomplish these goals. My techniques are innovative. The scars are hidden. Pain is aggressively managed. When all are brought together, a positive experience is the result.