Is it best to have a Morton's neuroma surgery done by a podiatrist or an orthopedic surgeon?

Answer 1

I went with orthopedic surgeon who was kind of reluctant to do it, said podiatrist was more qualified, but I have been going to this man for years and he did consult a podiatrist before doing it. However, i had to go to a podiatrist for a different problem several months later who said that the incision could have been half as small. Also, told me the ortho did a good job by not cutting thru the bottom of the foot as some do, only adds to recovery time and causes discomfort for some people for the rest of their lives. Aslo be prepared for numb toes, i had this done several years ago and still have not gotten use to that, but anything is better than the pain. Good luck.

Answer 2

Podiatrist Versus Orthopedic Surgeon

Answer 3

Speaking as a podiatrist, I am a bit biased. As a podiatrist my degree is a DPM (doctor of podiatric medicine) while an orthopedic surgeon is a MD (doctor of medicine). I, as a DPM, went to 4 years of undergraduate college and four years of medical school. This is the same as my MD counterparts. The only difference is residency training. I did three years of training with two years of extensive, exclusive training in foot and ankle surgery. An orthopedic surgeon might have more years of training but most of them don't spend much time training on the feet. Orthopedic surgeons also do not usually understand conservative biomechanical treatment options like a podiatrist would. I know this is a lot of information but bottom line is a board qualified or certified podiatrist is more than capable of doing neuroma surgery.

Answer 4

I had a fracture in that area and just waited patiently and wore a boot to protect my foot. Surgery was not an option for me and I did just fine, it just took about 7 months and careful positioning of my foot at night to sleep. AND of course darvocet and it has healed perfectly. If you think surgery is not for you, you can live with the pain and inconvenience and it probably my heal itself. My podiatrist is amazed and now other patients with the same malady are allowed to make a choice in his office. The old school is surgery, the new school is let the patient decide. It is up to you. P.S,: if you are an athlete or dancer and not an old osteoporostic broad like me, you may want to elect for the surgery to get yourself back in action as fast as possible. I had time to wait and heal. if you don't just know that new info is out in the med journals states that this type of injury will most likely happen again within a year with or without surgery if you are an active person. So, if you get the surgery, you may just have to have it very soon again in the near future. If you can literally stay off the foot as much as possible and live your life, it may be possible to not need the surgery. Check it out.

Answer 5

i am a nurse, and i had foot surgery over a year ago for hallux rigidus. my stepmom had surgery around the same time for morton's neuroma. both of us let podiatrists do our surgery, and both of us are unhappy with the results.

after i had the surgery, a doctor friend of mine told me to never see a podiatrist for foot surgery, and that i should have gone to an orthopedist. he said that podiatrists are like toe dentists. they don't get as much surgical training and they have a much shorter residency period than a podiatrist. an orthopedist is better qualified to deal with your issue.

Answer 6

they are both equally qualified (and most cases equally trained) to perform this procedure. If you are uncomfortable with either, then get a second opinion. do not settle for someone you are uncomfortable with just because of the qualifications...it's your life.