What Is Lapiplasty?
At Warner Orthopedics & Wellness, we offer many solutions for bunion pain and the unsightly deformity associated with the bunion. These treatments range from orthotic footwear, physical therapy, custom inserts, injection therapies, and taping to surgical procedures. Lapiplasty is one type of surgical procedure that we perform – for the permanent correction of bunions.
What Is Lapiplasty?
Lapiplasty, or 3D bunion surgery, is the only procedure with an implant specifically developed to address all three dimensions of the bunion deformity by addressing the root of the problem. There is another great benefit to this particular procedure…It is easy to recover from this surgery – you may be able to walk within days of your bunion correction.
This procedure (lapiplasty) focuses on the root cause of the bunion. Many people mistakenly believe that bunions are surface-level deformities – just bumps under the surface of the skin.
However, bunions are complex conditions sometimes caused by an unstable joint in the middle of the foot.
This unstable joint allows the entire metatarsal bone of the big toe to move out of alignment, causing the bump. The ‘bump’ of a bunion is essentially just the visible part of a deeper more complex deformity. Think of the ‘bump’ of your bunion like the tip of an iceberg; there is way more to it under the surface…
In addition, the joint may shift the bone upwards, out of alignment with the rest of the toes. Lapiplasty can also address the fact that the joint may also rotate to the outside of your foot slightly.
If left untreated, these three factors in the bunion deformity (angulation in the coronal and sagittal plane and rotation) can eventually contribute to arthritis in the affected joint, hammertoe formation, and more.
How The Lapiplasty Procedure Is Different
This procedure is designed to restore normal anatomy to the affected joints. It fixes the unstable joint at the base of the toe, corrects the rotation, and provides a permanent solution to the bunion formation so it will not recur. Lapiplasty is a great way to correct bunions and we are experts in this procedure.
It’s different from the more traditional surgery, during which the bone in the big toe is cut in half so that the top portion of the toe can be shifted over. While this reduces the appearance of the bunion, it does not address the unstable joint, which is the root cause of this particular condition.
The lapiplasty procedure is designed to shift and correct the rotation of the deviated bone. In this procedure, your bunion will disappear, not because it focuses on reducing the appearance of the bunion like traditional bunion surgery, but because the root cause of the problem is addressed.
Lapiplasty definitely makes the appearance of a bunion much better. After the joint has been corrected, titanium plates are installed to ensure that the joint does not deviate again.
If you believe that you would be a good candidate for this procedure, click below to schedule your consultation today:
