What Are the Benefits of Minimally Invasive Foot Surgery?

If conservative treatments have failed to improve your symptoms, the next stop may be surgery. But what if there’s one type of surgery that comes with smaller incisions, less downtime, and a reduced risk for complications?

If surgery is on your horizon, why not look into the best surgical interventions that use smaller instruments, come with smaller cuts, and deliver superior results?

At Ledesma Foot and Ankle in Scottsdale, Arizona, our experts often use minimally invasive surgery (MIS) to help their patients resolve their symptoms with less downtime and a reduced risk of complications.

What is minimally invasive surgery, and what conditions is it used for?

MIS in podiatry uses smaller instruments to reduce the size of incisions while achieving the same surgical goals as traditional surgery — correcting deformities, relieving pain, and restoring function — with significantly less damage to the surrounding healthy tissues.

Common uses for minimally invasive surgery include:

With MIS, our experts use smaller instruments to realign bones and joints, decompress pinched nerves, and release tight tissue.

Reduced tissue trauma

Traditional open surgery often involves large incisions through muscles, tendons, and ligaments. As a consequence, there’s a higher risk of developing nerve damage. The recovery may also involve more pain and swelling.

In contrast, recovery and the risk of nerve damage are minimized with MIS because the incisions are only a few millimeters in length, leading to less pain and swelling during recovery.

Faster recovery

Because the incisions are smaller, recovery times are typically shorter. With reduced pain, swelling, and stiffness after surgery, patients often find they can bear weight on the affected foot sooner and return to their normal activities more quickly.

Reduced risk of complications

Smaller incisions not only speed up the healing process but also lower the risk of bleeding and infection. The reduced exposure of the surgical site makes it less likely for infections to develop, and minimal tissue damage reduces the amount of blood lost.

Enhanced precision

In MIS, the instruments our experts use are more precise because they’re equipped with a high-definition camera that magnifies the view and allows for highly accurate bone cuts, tissue manipulation, and implant placement if needed.

Learn more about the benefits of minimally invasive surgery

Several studies suggest that MIS provides a superior recovery experience, a lower risk of complications, and is typically associated with high satisfaction rates.

If conservative measures have failed to alleviate your pain, or if you have difficulty walking, know that there are less invasive surgical options that can correct deformities and improve symptoms with less hassle.

Contact us to schedule an appointment at our office in Scottsdale, Arizona, to find out if you’re a good candidate, and take the first step toward a quicker, more comfortable recovery!