Young People Considering Surgery For Bunions

When you think of bunions, you likely think of older people who can't get their shoes on because of the bony prominence.
But bunions are a foot condition that attacks both young and old people. Take Kacey Barker, 26, of , who found herself with a pretty bad bunion. "Mine got progressively worse over the years. With all the sports and wear and tear... anything and everything was bothering it," Barker told the Wall Street Journal.

Haverhill, Massachusetts
The pain from the bunion had become so severe that Barker had to stop all athletic activities, including running, field hockey, and softball. After a charity walk last fall, she couldn't take the pain any longer and decided to have surgery to correct the deformity. She went to see Dr. James Ioli, chief of podiatry at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, who performed a chevron, which involves cutting the front part of the first metatarsal into a "V", moving the bone, and holding the sections together with screws. Six weeks later, she's still in a surgical boot and has another six weeks to recover. Barker's goal is to be pain-free on the dance floor at her wedding in September.
"A lot of my friends thought bunions were for women who are old or who wear high-heeled shoes for decades," says Barker, who normally wears sensible, supportive shoes. "It's definitely not something to take lightly. But for me, I'm excited to just be able to get back into a normal routine."
Claudia Ngo, 22, went to see Dr. Neil Blitz, chief of foot surgery at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center for her bunion in July. She received a bunionplasty, which is a cosmetic approach to the correction of bunions. "I always tried to hide, wearing socks and shoes around my friends or a blanket on the couch. In college I would wear heels... so they actually got bigger," said Ngo, of Bethesda, Maryland.
The first podiatrist she went to recommended she wait for bunion surgery and to only have them corrected if they were causing her pain. Ngo had pain after she wore heels all day or after working out, but not on a regular basis.
After Dr. Blitz performed the surgery on her right foot, she was able to walk with a surgical shoe right away. "After four weeks I was wearing regular shoes. Now I'm really happy with the results, it looks perfect," says Ngo, who plans on having the procedure done on her left foot this year.
Meghan Morrison's bunions haven't progressed to the same degree that Ngo's and Barker's did, but she's keeping an eye on them. So far the 27 year old graduate student from Nashville, Tennessee is using conservative treatment therapies, like avoiding high heels, wearing flat, wide shoes with support and padding. But if the bunions get worse, she will have surgery. "I don't want my feet to end up looking insane and horrific. And if it ever got to a point where I couldn't walk or be active I would definitely do it," says Morrison.
Reference: Wall Street Journal.
If you have a bunion, call our Glastonbury or Middletown office to make an appointment.
Ayman M. Latif, DPM
Connecticut Foot Care Centers
Foot Deformity Doctor in CT
Podiatrist in Glastonbury and Middletown, CT
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