The Aesthetic Toe Shortening™ procedure that I had developed in 2003 had attracted a lot of media attention, and I was consulting with patients from all over the country. As the popularity of this procedure grew, we noticed an increase in consultations asking about toe lengthening. You might ask “why would someone need or want to lengthen their toes?” There are two basic answers for this.
Brachymetatarsia
The first condition is a congenital condition called Brachymetatarsia. This condition is when one of the lesser metatarsals is shorter than the others, resulting a shorter toe. Usually the toe itself is normal, but it sits deeper in the foot, appearing to be shorter. There are numerous procedures available to correct this condition, however the new technique I developed provides patients with a post operative experience that is much shorter than the standard procedures available today. The result is usually immediate and once the skin is healed, the patient is able to wear regular shoes. And example of brachymetatarsia is shown in photo to the left.
The second condition that can cause a short toe is a poor surgical result from previous hammertoe surgery. A common procedure performed to correct hammertoes is called Arthroplasty. This procedure involves removing a portion of the head of one of the bones in the hammertoe. A pin or K-Wire is placed through the toe to provide stability while this toe heals from surgery. The pin is left in the toe until a fibrous cap is developed in the empty space which usually takes 4 weeks. Once the pin is removed, the toe is supposed to stay where the length the pin has kept it during the recovery phase. The problem is that every person is different and is the fibrous cap has not formed, or is eroded after 4 weeks, the toe begins to contract and results in this unfortunate situation.
Short Toe Caused by Surgery
Correcting this problem is a challenge for most surgeons since the toe has already undergone surgery and has developed much scar tissue. The Aesthetic Toe Lengthening™ procedure allows patients to have reliable and cosmetic results in about two weeks. Every toe is unique so each surgery is literally custom tailored to the patient with a custom manufactured implant for the toe to obtain the correct length. This is a first in foot surgery and we are proud to offer it to our patients.
The end result of this innovative new procedure is an aesthetic appearance and reconstruction to the normal foot design. Often times smaller parallel procedures like a toe shortening will complete the result and provide the patient with the most ideal appearance.
Click here for intra-operative photos of Aesthetic Toe Lengthening™.
Below is an example of Aesthetic Toe Lengthening on a short toe that was caused by surgery. The patient had seen an Orthopedic Surgeon for hammertoes and a traditional arthroplasty was performed which left the toe with no support once the K-Wire (pin) was removed. Within a few months, the patient’s toe began to contract, and left her with this result. She consulted with many foot surgeons who sent her away with no solution.
After our consultation, we decided to pursue the custom built procedure and the results speak for themselves. The 2nd toe was lengthened and the 3rd toe was shortened. This gave the patient a normal “parabola” toe structure. She is now wearing open toed shoes after not wearing them for 10 years!
Before Dr. Sadrieh
After Dr. Sadrieh
