Hammer toes are very common but also misunderstood. There are a few types of hammer toes the mild type involves more soft tissue problems, this is where the tendon or the joint is contracted and contributes to the problem. The more severe version involves a true structural deformity which is the bone involvement itself. Secondarily corn formation can occur on the top of the toe, if the corn or hard skin occurs on the end of the toe by the nail this is called a mallet toe. Correction for this is very simple and generally done in the office under a local anesthetic.
Many times hammer toes can be properly padded with over the counter treatments. It is important with these if you're a diabetic we'll have any problems with blood supply to your foot you should never ever use over-the-counter treatments that contain acid to remove the corn this can cause a severe infection and other complications. Using mole skin over the area definitely can help, the things that you may see to retrain the toes are generally not successful because there is a major imbalance within the foot most severe hammer toes also have a concurrent bunion deformity which contributes to the problem.
When we look at the best hammer toe treatment in Kansas City for mild hammer toe deformities it can be a simple as a local anesthetic type procedure performed in the office to release and rebalance the tendon and Joint. Recovery is short and success is high with very limited disability.
Severe hammer toe deformities are more difficult to correct. I find from experience that putting a pin or screw within the toe causes very limited function and Future complications. I use a new form of treatment involving minimally invasive surgery for correction, this procedure can be done in the office under a local anesthetic or on an outpatient basis if a patient is desires. The correction is performed under fluoroscopy which is a form of real-time x-ray. Through a small incision a few millimeters long the bone is surgically cut to realign it properly. 1 Stitch is more than enough to close the tiny incision. The patient is instructed on proper bandaging and or wrapping techniques to maintain the correction during the healing process. The toe heals in the same fashion as if it was broken by stubbing it. Of course the correction it's not as arbitrary as stubbing it on a chair. The toe will heal in a corrected position, in some cases some release of the soft tissue or tendon is necessary. The nice thing about this procedure is minimal scarring and the ability to maintain function of the toe.
The Mallet toe deformity we spoke about is a form of a hammertoe. The problem is that the end of the toe is angled downward significantly and the patient walks on the end of the toe or the nail causing thickening and pain did the skin and the nail. This hammer toe surgery procedure in Kansas City for correction involves removal have a small piece of bone the size of a green pea, this shortens and straightens the end of the toe significantly. Recovery is relatively short sutures remain in approximately 1 to 2 weeks. After all the years of doing mallet toe connections I'm still amazed of how the callous or the nail that has been deformed recovers to normal. The nail and callus it's caused by the pressure on the end of the toe once corrected it recovers. Many times patients thinks they have a fungus they do not on that Mallet toe but have trauma causing the nail to be thickened. Removal of the nail that is painful doesn't correct the underlying problem and the result is generally poor.
Todays guest post comes from Dr. Thomas Bembynista, serving Overland Park and Kansas City, Missouri (both north off Barry Rd. and south of the river, midtown area). Dr. Bembynista offers expert podiatric services and focuses on patient care and responding to individual patient needs.
Dr. Bembynista is originally from Chicago but has been practicing in Kansas City for 34 years. My philosophy is always to put the patient first, time will always be taken to listen to your problem and review treatments. Each care plan is tailored to your individual needs. We use advanced technology with digital x-rays, lasers, and instructional videos.
KC Foot Care: Thomas Bembynista, DPM
8695 College Blvd #220, Overland Park, KS 66210
W8G7+VP Overland Park, Kansas
(913) 894-0660