What are our goals with every bunion surgery patient? 

In our practice, our ultimate goal is the best outcome every time for every patient.  But what does that look like as it specifically relates to bunion surgery?

The first priority for both Dr. Paul Dayton, DPM, MS and Dr. Mindi Dayton, DPM, MHA is patient education. They both agree, “It is extremely important to us that all of our patients fully understand and are knowledgable on all components of their care.” Follow our series as we walk through the entire process from initial appointment through final follow up after surgery.

What is the initial consultation like? 

The new patient bunion consult typically last appproximately 45 minutes.  After a thorough history and physical examination and review of the xrays with the patient, we will discuss what the specific issues are.

If a bunion is the appropriate diagnosis, and it is determined that it is the cause of the patients symptoms, then we discuss treatment recommendations, including non surgical and surgical treatment.

The first thing we review with our patients on their initial consult is: What a bunion is?  We want patients to truly understand their diagnosis and the structural deformity. Knowing what a bunion deformity looks like and why it develops allows the patients to fully appreciate the treatment recommendations. If appropriate, we will discuss the best surgical treatment to correct all components of the bunion deformity and provide the least risk of recurrence.

In a patient without arthritis in the big toe joint we discuss a triplane tarsometatarsal correction which allows us to correct all components of the deformity consistently with excellent long term durability.  If the big toe joint is arthritic, then we will discuss other triplane correction options.

After a patient understands the structural issues with their bunion and we have reviewed triplane correction in detail we are then able to talk about what to expect before and after surgery.

Part 2: Pre-operative Information for Surgery…Coming Soon

Author Foot & Ankle Center of Iowa