Hammer toe is a toe that stays in a curled or flexed position. It can be caused by a muscle imbalance, arthritis, or shoes that do not fit well.
Several different kinds of surgery can repair hammer toe. Your bone or foot doctor will recommend the kind that will work best for you.
These includes:
- Remove parts of the toe bones.
- Cut or transplant the tendons of the toes ( tendons connect bone to muscle).
- Fuse the joint together to make the toe straight and no longer able to bend.
- Pain.
- Irritation·
- Sores.
- Treatment with paddings and strapping works.
- You can still straighten your toe.
- Changing to different shoe types can alleviatesymptoms.
- Poor alignment of the toe.
- Allergic reactions to medicines you receive before or during surgery.
- Bleeding.
- Infection in the bones of the toe.
- Injury to nerves that could cause numbness in your toe.
- Scar from surgery that hurts when it is touched.
- Stiffness in the toe or a toe that is too straight.
After surgery, you may have surgical pins or a wire (Kirschner, or K-wire) to hold the toe bones in place while your toe heals.
When hammer toe is starting to develop, you may still be able to straighten yourtoe. Over time, your toe may get stuck in a bent position and you can no longer straighten it. When this happens, painful, hard corns (thick, callused skin) can build up on the top and bottom of your toe and rub against your shoe.
Hammer toe surgery is not done just to make your toe look better. Consider surgery if your hammer toe is stuck in a flexed position and is causing:
Surgery may not beadvised if:
Risks of hammer toe surgery are:
Befor the surgery you must inform your doctor about any drugs or medication that you are using, If you have diabetes, heart disease, or other medical conditions, your surgeon will ask you to see your doctor who treats you for these conditions.
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