The New York Times published an article this week discussing the rise of cosmetic foot surgery among women. The author spoke to numerous doctors and orthopedic surgeons for the piece, and many seem to toe the proverbial line as to whether cosmetic foot procedures are worthwhile. Some doctors liken the surgery to botox injections or facelifts, saying they are only helping their client feel more beautiful, while wiser doctors advocated against cutting off flesh and bones just to fit into a smaller pair of shoes.
As I’ve said many times before, the best part about being a doctor is that we get to help people on a daily basis. We fix people, but when I read stories like this, I can’t help think of the old adage, “Why fix what isn’t broken?”
Cinderella Surgery
Another saying I’m reminded of when reading the piece is, “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.” You can call these cosmetic operations the Cinderella procedure or a Foot Tuck, but let’s not beat around the bush. You’re chopping off part of your foot, sometimes even when a problem doesn’t exist, and opening yourself up for trouble.
Now, let me be clear. I’m not in the least bit against foot surgery when a problem exists. I’ll blast away bunions and remove painful bone spurs, but if your “issue” is that you’re feet can’t fit into a pointed toe pair of 4-inch heels, excuse my resistance to lop off your pinky toe. If you don’t have any pain and can walk without pain, are you really willing to risk developing pain and losing the ability to walk pain free?
What bugs me about this article is that the author does a serious disservice to Dr. Jonathan Deland, who is the chief foot and ankle surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery. Dr. Deland makes it known that he is against cosmetic surgery for superficial reasons.
“The most important thing about a foot is that it doesn’t hurt you and you can function,” Dr. Deland said. “If were just talking about three-and-a-half-inch-heel stilettos that cause pain and if they wear a two-and-a-half-inch heel with no pain, then that’s probably not a good reason to do surgery.”
Dr. Deland is one of the great thinkers in modern foot and ankle orthopedic surgery, but this author seems to just write off his opinion in the piece. His opinion is focused on patient needs, not patient wants. Sometimes the best advice is to tell the patient, “No, that is an unnecessary and dangerous procedure and it shouldn’t be preformed.”
Related source: NY Times
