Foot and ankle surgery can be life-changing, especially for people with mobility issues. For example, surgery can make a big difference if bunions have kept you from doing the activities you love.

Foot and ankle surgeons treat the full range of bone, tendon, ligament and nerve injuries that affect feet, toes and ankles. They also have extensive experience in caring for people with ​diabetes and ​arthritis. Our surgeons treat everything from ingrown toenails to total ankle replacement.

Some foot and ankle surgeries are minimally invasive, meaning they only require small incisions. We also do open surgery, which uses a more traditional approach. For example, if you have a severe fracture or shattered ankle, you may need an open reconstructive surgery.

What conditions do we treat with foot and ankle surgery?

Some of the most common ​​foot and ankle injuries our surgeons treat include:

• Bunions
• Toe disorders and injuries
• Ligament tears
• Nerve conditions
• Neuromas
• Foot trauma
• Broken bones

Many foot and ankle problems get better without surgery. In fact, foot and ankle surgeons nearly always suggest other treatments first. This can include rest, medicine, physical therapy, bracing and wearing different shoes.

Sometimes, surgery happens very quickly. For example, if you’ve had foot or ankle trauma. Other times, the surgery is elective, meaning you and your doctor decide together.

This is common with bunion surgery. You can live with bunions for years, and there are various treatment options. When other treatments don’t help, you might seek bunion surgery like lapiplasty 3D correction or minimally invasive Chevron and Akin (MICA) bunion surgery.

These surgeries fix bunions at the joint level instead of just treating the symptoms. They use special technology to realign your bones and (in many cases) permanently fix bunions.

Other reasons you might need foot and ankle surgery include:

• Reconstructing ankle ligaments or tendons after an injury
• Replacing or fusing your ankle because of an injury or chronic pain
• Correcting bones in your foot that didn’t form or heal properly
• Treating toe pain from hammertoe or other injuries
• Realigning broken bones
• Surgery to release fascia, remove nerves or cut out heel spurs

If you’re having foot or ankle surgery, your Carilion care team will go over the details of what to expect before, during and after surgery. Here are some general things to consider.

Before surgery

Plan for your recovery by getting things set up at your home. This is especially important if you’ll be off your feet for a while. You might need to do things like:

• Put a shower chair in the shower
• Set up a bedroom on the first floor
• Line up family and friends to help out with meals, housekeeping and errands

Your doctor will give specific pre-surgery instructions for stopping eating and taking medication.

During surgery

Your surgeon will let you know what type of anesthesia you’ll be having. Many foot and ankle surgeries only need local anesthesia.

Many surgeries are outpatient. For example, you can go home the same day after most foot and ankle procedures.

At Carilion, we’ll make sure you have all the details ahead of time so that you can plan.

Recovery from foot and ankle surgery

Your care team will work with you to manage any post-surgery pain. It’s very important to follow your surgeon’s instructions about activity and how much weight you can bear.

For example, with ankle replacement surgery, you’ll need to keep your foot elevated for several weeks and not put weight on it. It can take 4 months to be back to full activities. Ankle tendon repair surgery takes about the same amount of recovery time.

Bunion surgery can take 6 to 12 weeks to recover fully. You’ll most likely need to be off your feet for at least 2 weeks after the surgery.

At Carilion, we work closely with the physical therapy team to create rehab plans for after surgery. Your physical therapist will help you regain your range of motion. We even have specialized ​sports performance therapy for athletes who want to get back in the game.