Minimally Invasive Surgery Specialists

What is minimally invasive surgery?

Minimally invasive surgery is a technique in which your operation takes place via small incisions into your body, unlike traditional open surgery.

Open surgery requires a long, deep incision through your skin and underlying tissues so your surgeon can directly view the structures in your feet. Using minimally invasive techniques, your surgeon has no need to open up the skin wide enough to see the area they’re working on. Instead, they view the surgery site on a screen.

Minimally invasive surgery of the foot and ankle involves the use of an arthroscope. This slender, flexible instrument has a camera on one end that goes into the small incision your surgeon makes. The camera sends video of the inside of your foot or ankle to a screen in the operating room.

Your surgeon uses these images to guide their instruments, which also fit into the small incisions.

What benefits does minimally invasive foot and ankle surgery offer?

Trinity Foot & Ankle Specialists uses minimally invasive techniques because they offer some significant advantages, including:

• Less postsurgical pain
• Lower risk of infection
• Faster healing
• Reduced stiffness
• Smaller scars
• Lower costs
• Less need for opioid pain relief
• Quicker return to active life
• No need to stay in the hospital

Most minimally invasive foot and ankle surgeries take place under a regional anesthetic that numbs your lower body or a local anesthetic that numbs your foot and ankle, plus a sedative so you feel relaxed.

These anesthesia techniques are less risky than a general anesthetic, which puts you to sleep. You’re also less likely to experience side effects like nausea and vomiting or a sore throat.

What conditions can minimally invasive surgery treat?

Trinity Foot & Ankle Specialists uses minimally invasive surgery to treat numerous foot and ankle problems, including:

• Bunions
• Hammertoes
• Bone spurs
• Morton’s neuroma
• Trapped nerves
• Heel spurs
• Plantar fasciitis
• Diabetic ulcers
• Arthritis
• Tendonitis

The team can also do complex surgeries such as flatfoot reconstruction and fracture repair.

When would I need minimally invasive surgery on my feet?

For most patients, the nonsurgical approaches used by the team at Trinity Foot & Ankle Specialists effectively resolve pain and disability. Treatments such as custom orthotics, braces, splints, medication, laser therapy, and physical therapy are usually all you need.

However, if your foot and ankle pain doesn’t respond to these treatments or the condition is too severe, minimally invasive surgery offers the safest, least painful alternative.

In situations when it’s not possible to perform minimally invasive surgery, the Trinity Foot & Ankle Specialists surgeons are also experts in using traditional techniques to resolve your foot problems.

To find out more about minimally invasive foot and ankle surgery, call Trinity Foot & Ankle Specialists today, or book an appointment online.