Stiletto Surgeries

By Brandie Umar - Executive Director of Content | July 29th, 2010

Would you have surgery to ensure you could wear the must-have shoes of the moment? For many fashion conscious women the answer is yes and an increasing number of women are turning to plastic surgery to make it possible. Plastic surgeons report a dramatic rise in the number of patients requesting plastic surgery foot procedures to reduce the pain of high heels and make their feet look prettier.

Podiatry and plastic surgery procedures are in some cases connected. Bunion surgery to remove the painful lumps on the side of toes is a form of surgery that is recognized by The American Podiatric Medical Association as a medical treatment.

Health insurance companies often cover the costs of bunion surgery to reduce pain and discomfort yet a growing number of women seek bunion surgery not as a medical procedure but as a cosmetic procedure to remove the unsightly bumps from their feet. Bunion surgery for cosmetic purposes is known as the Cinderella Procedure and the surgery's popularity is being linked to the pressure on women to wear narrow high heeled shoes on a regular basis.

Regularly wearing stiletto shoes causes a number of foot problems aside from bunions.

The pressure on the balls of feet from the angle of shoes can make it incredibly painful for women to wear their shoes for long periods of time. Plastic surgeons offer a solution; similar to body fat transfer to recontour the figure, 'Foot-Tuck Fat Pad Augmentation' removes fat from a womans abdomen and injects it into the soles of feet to offer extra padding to withstand the pressure of wearing high heeled shoes.

The shape of fashionable high heels shoes is often not designed to fit the average womans foot. Many women force their feet into shoes that are too narrow or too short to accommodate their feet correctly. Wearing incorrectly fitting shoes causes pain and women are again turning to plastic surgeons for a solution. The solutions - 'toe trimming' and 'pinky trimming' which shorter or narrow toes the wrong shape for popular fashions - are being heavily criticized by many podiatrists, however many also see such surgeries as a blend of cosmetic alterations and preventative surgery to help patients avoid foot pain after years of wearing ill-fitting shoes.

There are no health reasons why a patient shouldn't have plastic surgery on their feet and indeed in lots of cases, plastic surgery foot procedures have the duel effect of relieving foot pain as well as enhancing the cosmetics of feet in high heels. The question marks are raised only over what the role of podiatrists is - to correct deformities in feet or make feet prettier. Plastic surgeons would argue that is where they come in and the rise in requests for cosmetic alterations for feet and toes would suggest many women agree.

Patients considering plastic surgery on feet, either to remove painful lumps or enhance the appearance, should consult their insurance companies to determine if the procedure will be covered or not. Bunion surgery if recommended by a podiatrist costs around $5000USD is likely to be covered by health insurance. Procedures such as toe shortening or 'Foot-Tuck Fat Pad Augmentation' are less likely to be covered under insurance and cost between $500-2000 USD.

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