The medical name for a bunion is hallux valgus, which is a bump or prominence over the inner aspect of the big toe. A bunion is often associated with deviation of the big toe, and causes difficulty with shoe wear. There are many causes for a bunion to develop, including hereditary factors and wearing of narrow pointed, high heeled shoes.
Many bunions even though large do not require surgery. If symptomatic, you can either change the shape of the shoe to fit the foot (i.e. wear wider toe box shoes that are made of soft stretchable leathers) or change the shape of the foot to fit the shoe, which obviously requires surgery. There is never any urgency to bunion surgery, and although some bunions slowly get worse, much the same operation can usually be performed at a later stage. There are numerous operations that can be performed to correct the deformity, and each has certain advantages and potential complications associated with it.
At the Victorian Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Clinic each patient's foot is carefully assessed to select the most appropriate operation based on the particular features of each bunion deformity. In the majority of patients this surgery is performed as a day case procedure under a local anaesthetic ankle block with most patients being able to weight bear immediately on the operative foot following surgery.
