This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Cosmetic foot surgery fad getting attention
AOFAS issued a position statement advising against foot surgery for purely cosmetic purposes.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
 |
“I am concerned about what
appears to be an alarming trend toward pure cosmetic foot surgery.”
|
To fit into the narrow-toed shoes that are considered high fashion these days, some women are undergoing surgery to change the shape of their feet. Foot surgeons alarmed by this trend said the goals of foot surgery should be to relieve pain and to restore function and quality of life.
Due to the inherent problems associated with such a trend, The American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) has issued a position statement warning against the practice. “The AOFAS recommends that surgery not be performed simply to improve the appearance of the foot. Surgery should never be performed in the absence of pain, functional limitation or reduced quality of life.”
“There is a difference of night and day between a woman who has painful feet and requires surgery and a woman who has painless feet who wants surgery,” said Glenn B. Pfeffer, MD, current president of the AOFAS. “I am concerned about what appears to be an alarming trend toward pure cosmetic foot surgery.”
Patients are seeking procedures that range from bone excisions to silicone implants in the balls of the feet.
Pfeffer told Orthopedics Today that for surgeons who wish to do so, it is easy to abuse any surgery. Pfeffer said he is confident that no members of the AOFAS are involved in popularizing purely cosmetic foot surgery.
Headline grabbers
This trend has garnered national attention from the New York Times to television’s Inside Edition.
Some orthopedic foot specialists question whether this is truly a trend or merely headline grabbing by certain groups. “It has always been there, it just seems that now it has gone into a new dimension,” said Carol Frey, MD, of Manhattan Beach, Calif. “I think it is now being used as a marketing tool. We used to call it prophylactic surgery.”
Frey, who is the former chair of the AOFAS’ Shoewear and Orthoses Committee and is editor of Orthopedics Today's Foot and Ankle section, said that many of the procedures being performed are for simple hammertoe or other commonly occurring corrective surgeries. “Many of the people who are having these surgeries are really going in for pain, and not pure cosmetic surgery,” she said. “It is rare for a patient with hammertoes or bunions, which they consider ugly, to not have some pain with shoewear.”
She said that a good cosmetic result for a surgery that relieves pain or restores function is a goal all foot surgeons should attempt to reach. “We want beautiful cosmetic results even though foot function is the primary goal of surgery. I am all for great cosmetic results, but I am doing surgery for a problem with foot function or a painful foot. It makes the patient feel better, as a physician you feel better, and you are going to get more referrals if you also have a beautiful result.”
Adequate patient education
|
Pfeffer said he feels one of the main problems is that the cosmetic surgeries are being undertaken without proper patient education.
“Patients who are having pure cosmetic surgery on their feet are not being given adequate informed consent,” Pfeffer said. “It is one thing if your feet hurt all the time and you need to have surgery, then the risk benefit ratio is reasonable as with any orthopedic surgery; however, if you don’t hurt most of the time and you can wear reasonable shoes, then surgery is not appropriate.”
In addition, plastic surgery is different on the feet than other parts of the body and many patients are not being told that.
“We are seeing an alarming trend of women who think their feet are ugly, and they are being preyed upon by inappropriate physicians,” he said.
Negative attention
Both Frey and Pfeffer said they are concerned about the impact of the negative attention the media hype may be garnering. Since many of the national reports focus on some of the bad surgical results or the narcissistic nature of purely cosmetic surgeries, many patients with reasonable foot complaints may be discouraged from seeking surgical intervention.
“It emphasizes the negativity of surgery and can scare women away who need surgery to return the functionality of their feet,” Frey said. “Or, women will get the impression that they are being vain or that foot surgery is superficial and vain — and there are women who still are anti-cosmetic surgery.”
The surgeons are also concerned that the hype may also influence insurers to consider some foot surgeries as cosmetic. This will further alienate justifiable surgical candidates. “There are women who will think that their insurance will not pay for certain procedures because they look at them as cosmetic,” Frey said.
For more information:
- For more information on purely cosmetic surgery of the feet and the AOFAS statement, see the society’s patient information Web site: www.FootCareMD.com.