Big Toe Bone spur removal via MIS surgery

68 year old female with large bone spur and arthritis. The major symptom was the bone spur and we opted to proceed with MIS cheilectomy using a 2 mm “poke hole” incision. She is back to walking at 2 weeks with minimal pain and discomfort. The MIS procedure is an excellent option for spur removal with a quick recovery.

MIS bone spur removal using a 2 mm "poke hole" incision!

Advanced Hallux Rigidus 

71 year old male with chronic big toe arthritis pain. We discussed fusion vs cheilectomy. We opted for a minimally invasive with partial open 1st metatarsal cheilectomy. We discussed if this were to fail we would proceed to fuse.

Even on his first day after surgery he had some “twinges” of pain but has done very well. He is two weeks out with no pain, we have cleared him for all activities, specifically tennis! He is very happy he chose the lesser invasive option given he has no symptoms and the pain in his big toe is now gone. The xrays show the arthritis before and after surgery, plus the xray shows his excellent dorsiflexion post resection of the arthritis!

When performing a “cheilectomy” its important to remove at least 1/3 of the metatarsal head, removing too little bone on the primary resection is a common cause for failure of this procedure!

Cartiva

70 year old female who had chronic big toe pain. She had failed conservative care and opted to proceed with Cartiva implantation. At 3 years out she is very pleased with her recovery, she has no pain and is very appreciative of her procedure.

Its a great option for people who have advanced arthritis who are not candidates for spur removal and who do not want the other option which is fusion. With fusion there the largest limitation is lack of big toe motion, inability to wear any shoes with more than 1 1/2 inch heel. 

The surgical scar is almost invisible!

Excellent active motion of the big toe!

Walking with no pain in her left foot after Cartiva!

Great passive motion of the big toe after Cartiva

Hallux Rigidus failed bone spur removal

59 year old male with failed “bone spur removal” AKA cheilectomy. Underwent right 1st metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint fusion using the Arthrex MaxForce 1st MTP fusion plate. At 9 weeks he is walking up to 2 miles, minimal pain. Doing great!

Preoperative x-rays

Postoperative x-rays

Well healed surgical incision

Great gait at 9 weeks from surgery!

Thank you for your interest in my specialty. If you have any questions please feel free to call my office at at 408-412-8100.
My clinics are located in Los Gatos, Mountain View and Morgan Hill, but I treat patients throughout the Bay Area.