Neuroma implies an abnormality in the foot nerve, which suffers damage due to trauma or any abnormality related to the functions performed by your foot. Neuroma mainly takes place in the ball region of one’s foot. Accordingly, nerve pinches in the respective area to cause inflammation due to abnormal bones’ movement in the foot’s ball area.
How Do You Remove A Neuroma?
As neuroma condition progresses, nerve suffers permanent damage, which necessitates its surgical removal in the form of an outpatient procedure. Surgical procedure performed to remove Neuromas from your forefoot area is a simple and easy procedure. Doctors perform the surgery by applying a local anesthesia in their own office or by applying intravenous anesthesia injections in any outpatient surgical center.
Procedure Involved In The Surgery
Incision In Top Or Bottom Area Of The Foot
Your podiatric surgeon made a skin incision followed by the administration of local anesthesia to the top area of your foot i.e. in the Neuroma location. This commonly takes place in the area present between your third or fourth toe. Alternatively, doctors made a skin incision on bottom area of your foot in the Neuroma’s location.
Identification Of The Nerve, Its Cutting And Removal
Once the surgeon identifies the nerve, he/she cuts and removes it.
Application Of Gauze Dressing
After the completion of your surgery, doctors apply a gauze dressing or a bandage that stays in its place until and unless you visit your surgeon on your visit after your operation.
Post-Operative Visits And Precaution Steps
On your first post-operate visit to the hospital, your surgeon will inspect the Neuron’s removal surgical site and apply a new dressing.
Your doctor will remove sutures in 10 days or 14 days followed by your surgery. During this time, you have to make sure keeping your foot in dry condition to avoid any risk related to infection.
- As a patient, you have to limit your activities and elevate your foot above your heart as much as you can.
- Doctors may recommend you wearing suitable post-operative footwear to perform limited walking in a comfortable manner.
- You should never walk without wearing post-operative shoe.
- Once doctors remove your sutures, you may bath your foot and may opt to wear stiff-soled and roomy walking shoe.
- You have to wait for about 3 weeks after your surgery before you should wear walking shoes in a comfortable manner.
Recovery Time After Morton’s Neuroma Surgery
Time required to stay off from your work depends on your specific job profile and type of footwear you opt to wear. For instance, if you work with your foot elevated, while propped up with limited amount of walk you may easily return to regular work even within only one week of your surgery. However, doctors recommend patients avoid returning to work until and unless they are able to wear normal shoes comfortably. Along with this, if your job profile requires prolonged standing, climbing, kneeling or walking, you have to stay on leave from your work for the period of about six weeks.
Conclusion
To conclude, we should say that Morton’s Neuron removal surgery is an easy procedure and involves less risk. However, it is the prime responsibility of every patient to follow the instructions of the podiatric surgeon and other doctors strictly to achieve faster recovery and return to regular walking in less possible span of time (ideally within 4 weeks to 6 weeks period).
- OrthoInfo. “Morton’s Neuroma.” https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases–conditions/mortons-neuroma
- Mayo Clinic. “Morton’s Neuroma: Diagnosis and Treatment.” https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mortons-neuroma/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20351941
- MedlinePlus. “Neuroma Excision.” https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002931.htm
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