What is Minimally Invasive Foot Surgery?
Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) of the foot and ankle uses the latest advanced technology to treat foot and ankle pain caused by a variety of conditions. Special surgical instruments, devices, and advanced imaging techniques are used to visualize and perform the surgery through small incisions. The aim of MIS is achieve the same surgical goal, but to minimize damage to the muscles and surrounding structures, enabling a faster recovery with less pain.
What are the Benefits of Minimally Invasive Foot Surgery?
The benefits of MIS over a traditional open foot and ankle procedure include:
- Smaller surgery scars
- Less risk of infection
- Less blood loss during the surgery
- Less postoperative pain
- Quicker recovery
- Typically, outpatient procedures
- Quicker return to work and normal activities
What are the Indications for Minimally Invasive Foot Surgery?
Some of the foot and ankle conditions treated using MIS techniques include:
- Bunions
- Hammer toes
- Metatarsalgia
- Big toe arthritis
- Flat feet
- Ankle arthritis
- Achilles tendon rupture
- Toe deformities
How is Minimally Invasive Foot Surgery Performed?
Minimally invasive foot surgery is performed through very small incisions. Through these small incisions, segmental tubular retractors and dilators are inserted to retract muscles away from the operative area and provide access to the affected area of the foot. This minimizes the damage to the muscles and soft tissues and lessens blood loss during the surgery.
Sometimes a small scope, a thin telescope-like instrument with a video camera on the end is inserted through one of the tiny incisions to provide images of the operation field on the monitor in the operating room. Special tiny surgical instruments are passed through a working channel to perform the surgery. Once the surgery is complete, the incision is then closed with a few sutures and covered with a sterile dressing and/or splint.
What are the Risks and Complications of Minimally Invasive Foot Surgery?
As with any surgical procedure, there are potential risks and complications involved with minimally invasive foot surgery. These may include bleeding, infection, and/or damage to surrounding structures.
Other Foot & Ankle Procedures