Should You Get Lapiplasty? A Patient’s Guide to Deciding on Bunion Surgery

Key Takeaways:

About a third of Americans suffer from bunions, a painful bony growth at the base of the big toe.
Conventional at-home treatments can help relieve your pain, but bunions don’t go away on their own.
Minimally invasive Lapiplasty may be a good option for many bunion sufferers.

Bunions are bony bumps that form at the base of your big toe when it’s been pushed out of alignment for too long. Around one-third of American adults are estimated to suffer from bunions, which can be quite painful and limit mobility.

Signs It’s Time for Bunion Surgery

For most people, simple remedies can help relieve the pain of bunions, including:

Ice
Over-the-counter pain medications
Custom orthotics
Better-fitting shoes
Cortisone shots

However, these methods only provide temporary relief from bunion pain. If you have a bunion, that means your big toe joint is already misaligned, and that doesn’t fix itself. Bunions don’t go away on their own and may get progressively worse if not treated by a medical professional.

You may need to discuss bunion surgery options with your doctor when you notice these signs:

The problem becomes so bad that you can’t wear shoes
You can’t walk without pain
You develop an open wound at the site of the bunion
The misaligned joint is at risk of complete dislocation

An honest talk with your podiatrist, along with possible X-rays or other diagnostic tests, will let you know whether it’s time to consider surgery to fix your bunion.

Traditional Bunion Surgery

Traditional bunion surgery, also called a bunionectomy, involves incisions made into the area, followed by:

A realignment of the joint, which is then held together with metal screws or pins
A fusing of the bones
Shaving of the bunion

The type of surgery recommended to you will depend on the cause and severity of your bunion. Traditional surgery is usually an outpatient procedure with a full recovery timeline of up to nine months.

What is Lapiplasty?

Lapiplasty is a newer method of corrective bunion surgery. It’s less invasive with a quicker recovery timeline. Rather than fixing the symptoms, Lapiplasty gets to the root of the problem to correct the entire bone.

Unlike traditional bunion surgery, which has a 15-35% recurrence rate, over 97% of Lapiplasty patients report no new bunion after 13 months. This means that traditional surgery, in addition to not addressing the root of the problem, also can’t guarantee that your bunion won’t come back.

Lapiplasty is also much less invasive than a traditional bunionectomy. It’s considered a minimally invasive surgery (MIS). The incisions are smaller, thereby doing less damage to the surrounding tissues and tendons. This makes the recovery process much less painful than with traditional surgery, lowers your risk of infection, and reduces your scarring.

MIS also has the advantage of a quicker recovery timeline than traditional surgery.

General Lapiplasty Recovery Timeline

How long is the recovery from bunion surgery? Of course, every case is different. Depending on the severity of your bunion and other lifestyle factors, your doctor may lengthen or shorten certain aspects of your recovery. Always listen to your doctor, call them with any questions or concerns, and give your body plenty of time to heal properly.

For the majority of otherwise healthy patients, recovery from Lapiplasty looks like this:

First Week

Mild pain, bruising, or swelling at the surgical site. Remedies will include staying off your affected foot, ice packs, and over-the-counter pain relievers. Your surgeon may also recommend small foot movements, such as wiggling your toes, to keep healthy blood flowing to the surgical site.

Weeks 1 to 4

You may be given a lightweight cast and permission to put a little bit of weight on your foot for short periods of time.

Weeks 4 to 6

You’ll likely be permitted to perform light activities on your feet.

Up to 4 Months

You’ll continue following up with your doctor, who will gradually permit you to add more weight-bearing activities to your routine.

Up to 6 Months

By now, you should be entirely pain-free, with little to no swelling, and able to resume wearing normal shoes and performing regular activities again.

Choosing a Minimally Invasive Approach

Lapiplasty is an excellent alternative to traditional bunion surgery. But it’s not for everyone. Your doctor will take your medical history and run tests to determine whether you’re a good candidate for MIS Lapiplasty.

Factors influencing your Lapiplasty candidacy include:

The severity or type of your bunion. Lapiplasty works best on bunions caused by a misaligned joint or hypermobility. For bunions caused by arthritis, Lapiplasty may not be helpful.
The health of your bones. Your bones, especially the bones of your foot, must be healthy and strong enough to hold the screws that will be put in place.
Your age. Lapiplasty is not recommended for patients 12 and under.
Your overall health. Your doctor will take a look at your overall health to determine whether there are other conditions that need to be addressed before Lapiplasty.
Failure of previous treatments. If you’ve tried previous treatments before and they haven’t worked, or your bunion has returned, Lapiplasty may be your best choice.

FAQs: Lapiplasty for Bunions

Q: Does insurance cover Lapiplasty?

A: Most of the time, health insurance (including Medicare) will cover the cost of Lapiplasty if your doctor deems it medically necessary. We strongly recommend checking with your insurance provider before scheduling surgery.

Q: Are all podiatrists qualified to perform Lapiplasty?

A: No. However, if your podiatrist thinks you could benefit from Lapiplasty, or you would like to learn more about this option, you may be recommended to a Lapiplasty-certified surgeon.

Q: I’ve had bunion surgery before. Can I still get Lapiplasty?

A: Yes! If your doctor determines that your previous surgery wasn’t successful, they may recommend Lapiplasty.

Ask Us About Lapiplasty Bunion Correction

If you’re looking for minimally invasive foot surgery, Plymouth Podiatry treats the whole person to get to the source of the problem. Helping you live a pain-free life. We’re proud to offer Lapiplasty as an option to our patients in Kingston, Lakeville, Taunton, and the surrounding areas.