Foot and ankle surgery

"Minimally invasive" is a term readers meet often around foot and ankle operations. It sounds like a smaller version of the same thing, so it is worth asking what the term does and does not tell you.

What each answer checks

• What surgery fixes adult flatfoot? The answer names the operations sources list instead of one headline procedure.
• When does Morton's neuroma need surgery? The answer checks the word "need" against what public medical sources say.
• What is a cheilectomy? The answer starts with the term itself, since a long name can hide a short idea.
• What is posterior tibial tendon dysfunction? The answer begins with the name that surgeons and brochures both use.

The claim they share

Each question asks what an operation is meant to correct. Cleveland Clinic says ankle surgery can fix structural problems and remove and replace damaged tissues to relieve pain. It also says that often, surgeons can operate on the ankle using minimally invasive surgery techniques. Those are general statements about ankle surgery, and they do not describe a particular patient.

For related reading, see the AAOS OrthoInfo page on progressive collapsing foot deformity, the HSS page on minimally invasive bunion surgery and a case-control study of internal fixation versus manual reduction for ankle fracture.

When a label crosses topics

An operation is usually described next to the problem it follows. For breaks, look at our foot and ankle fractures group. For nerve questions, the neuropathy and circulation group covers testing.