Mount Sinai Hospital is the first and only hospital in New York State to offer percutaneous foot surgery, according to a recent press release.
Ettore Vulcano, M.D., assistant professor, Leni & Peter W. May Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, will be the pilot surgeon for this new technique. Vulcano specializes in foot and ankle surgery and limb lengthening and reconstruction.
“This technique is an exciting development. This method uses the tiniest of incisions, which allows for smaller scars, less pain, and a quicker recovery. For patients, it results in better toe range of motion and cosmetic appearance of foot,” he said in the release.
“Bunions most commonly affect women and are also often seen in patients with flatfoot. They tend to get worse with pregnancy, since the soft tissues get looser, thus aggravating the bunion deformity.”
While there is non-operative treatment available, surgery is recommended for bunions that are painful and limit normal daily activity.
“This new surgery promises a quicker return to sports and wearing shoes with heels, if desired. In addition, high-risk patients, such as those who smoke or are obese; people with diabetes; and those with poor blood flow or neuropathy, are candidates for this type of surgery,” Vulcano said.
Wright Medical, which has headquarters in the United Kingdom and in Memphis, Tennessee, distributes and manufactures the hardware and technology in the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the technology this past spring.
Hello Dr. Vulcano;
I had L3-S1 Spinal Fusion Surgery in 2014. This was to correct and improve and alleviate My Bilateral Lower Extremities Neuropathy of My Feet. This was not successful! My Lower Back still Slips and My pain is constant. I have Several Hammer Toes that the Pain doesn’t let Me sleep at night. Are You Able to Help Me? I’m in Aventura Florida!
Thanks Sincerely: Ernie Ortega
Dr. Vulcano:
I had my bunions drilled out almost a year ago. It did not help as my feet are splayed and I have a hammer toe on my right middle toe.
Does anyone perform your procedure in my area of Boca Raton, W
Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale or Miami? If I would come to New York, what would be the length of my stay and would I be ambulatory almost immediately as I would be alone.
Thanks so much! GKunz
What are the non surgical treatments for bunions
Dear Sir / Madam
I am writing on behalf of a family member who has extreme leg pain and was hoping that with a bit of insight of his past, that you might have a better solution to help him walk properly.
Your time and your professional medical opinion would be welcomed.
The individual has been suffering for a long time, and is still hopeful there is someone that can provide medical advice or other options that would make his quality of life better (with less leg pain and walking ).
Letter from him :
As a matter of fact I suffer from a peripheral neuropathy with a decrease in strength in the lower limbs and a foot drop in both feet. Please note that I am 6.23 Ft tall and weigh 245 lbs.
I have been an Olympic athlete and it all started with a hip osteoarthritis of both hips, the dislocation of both hips and subsequent replacement of them, plus the operation of the lumbar spine
due to herniated disc and then narrowing of the Spinal Canal with partial fixation of the spine. This pathology does not allow me to stand on my toes and I cannot stand on my heels neither,
only in the water, where my weight is lower.
At the present time he is using braces for walking , but unfortunately and despite the efforts he makes using those braces, he still have some difficulties walking, even with a cane. He has also other pairs of braces purchased at HANGER (USA)
with an internal template and iron with one entry for left and one for right in both pairs. With these braces he walks better although they are uncomfortable due to having internally the lateral irons.
If you wish , I can send you a video a video where he is walking ,so that you can appreciate the difficulty
Please let me know if you have any questions that you need to make me in order to study the case deeply enough with a view of finding a reasonable solution
Hope everything works out
Thanking you in advance for taking the time to review the below. I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Hello Dr. Vulcano, I saw a news store featuring you and your new minimally invasive bunion surgery. I live in CA, so NY is not practical for me (although I’ve considered it). I have surgery schedule for April for 1 foot for a Dr. in Orange County using PROstep™ MICA™ surgery. They claim it is minimally invasive, but they just mentioned hardware to me yesterday and so I looked at their website and saw that they insert 2 screws. Is this the same surgery you perform? Or am I wrong to think they should not be putting hardware in? Please let me know if any one you know of performs the surgery as you developed it? Does yours use 2 screws? Thank you so much for your time.
Marlene… was wondering how your surgery went with the insertion of screws… I read that Dr. V does not use screws. Hope your surgery went well .