Providing Support for Bunion Patients in Ankeny

For over 45 years combined, my husband and I have been treating patients with a variety of foot-related problems. While we treat patients with a wide range of conditions, based on our passion and expertise, over 80% of our patients suffer from a progressive bone deformity commonly known as a bunion. Over 25% of Americans live with the condition, which can be extremely painful and cause significant challenges to everyday life. Unfortunately, traditional methods to treat bunions like 2D osteotomy procedures often cause patients a great deal of pain and bring about a 70% chance that the bunions will return. After years of watching our patients suffer and avoid undergoing treatment, we helped pioneer an innovative new treatment option called Lapiplasty® 3D Bunion Correction™. Together, we are working to help educate the Ankeny community and share information on where patients can go for help.

To date, we have performed more than 800 Lapiplasty® Procedures to treat patients with bunions from all over the country. Many people often believe that a bunion is an overgrowth of bone or a calcium deposit on the side of their big toe joint. However, a bunion is not just a bump, but a structural deformity caused by an unstable joint in the middle of the foot that allows the big toe to drift out of alignment. Symptoms of a bunion typically include pain on the side of the big toe joint, callous formations on the side of the big toe and pain under the second toe joint on the ball of the foot. All of these symptoms can lead to extreme pain that can impact a patient’s ability to do even the simplest tasks such as walking, grocery shopping, or climbing stairs. People who live with bunions and are physically active often have to cut back on their activities as the pain worsens.

Like most surgeons, we typically recommend that patients first try non-invasive methods to treat bunions, such as orthotics, to help with pain. However, bunions are a progressive condition and as they worsen, surgery is typically the next step for treatment. When working with other surgeons and researchers to develop a new treatment method, we wanted to focus on correcting the root cause of bunions. Traditional 2D osteotomies simply involve shaving off the protruding bump on the big toe. While the procedure corrects the cosmetic aspect of the bunion deformity in the short term, it does not address the three-dimensional deformity that causes bunions, and often fails in the long term. With Lapiplasty®, we wanted to make sure that we corrected the underlying bone deformity while also providing patients with a manageable recovery experience.

Lapiplasty® addresses the deformity that causes bunions by returning the bones in the foot to their correct alignment and securing them with a system of patented titanium plates. Our patients are generally able to return to their usual lifestyles within about four months and while 2D osteotomy procedures often require patients to keep weight off their foot for six to eight weeks, many patients who undergo Lapiplasty® are able to bear weight on their foot while wearing a surgical boot within days after surgery. Patients are also encouraged by the Lapiplasty’s® demonstration of low rates of bunion recurrence, with 97% and 99% of patients maintaining 3D corrections in 13- and 17-month clinical trials, respectively. Since the procedure was first cleared by the FDA in 2015, more than 45,000 patients have been treated with it.

It has always been our mission to help patients get back to living lives by addressing their sources of pain and discomfort. Bunions can be very disruptive to a person’s life, but so can traditional removal methods. We helped develop Lapiplasty® to address the concerns that many people have when deciding between living with a bunion or going through with a removal procedure. After many years of performing this procedure, we have seen so many patients get back to doing the things they love, and many people recommend Lapiplasty® to their friends and family as well. We have seen such great success that we recently expanded our practice and opened a new facility called the Foot & Ankle Center of Iowa, Bunion Surgery Specialists, that is dedicated to treating people living with bunions.

If you live in the Ankeny area and if you or someone you know has been experiencing pain from bunions, know that we have a team of trained professionals who understand what you are going through and who want to help. Don’t be afraid to book a consultation to learn more about how the Lapiplasty® procedure can get you back to living bunion-pain-free!

For more information about the Lapiplasty® Procedure visit www.Lapiplasty.com. To make an appointment with us, call 515-639-3775 or visit www.FootAnkleCenterIowa.com.

Only a surgeon can tell if Lapiplasty® 3D Bunion Correction™ is right for you. As with any medical treatment, individual results may vary and this experience is unique and specific to this patient only. There are potential risks with surgery and recovery takes time. Potential risks include, but are not limited to: infection, pain, discomfort from the presence of the implant, loosening of the implant, and loss of correction with improper bone healing.