Foot Narrowing Surgery (2024)

FAQs

Can you have surgery to make your feet narrower? ›

Cinderella Foot Surgery is a cosmetic procedure that results in a narrower, more aesthetically pleasing, foot shape. It is a procedure that effectively tackles the problem of splayed or spread foot, which can make it difficult to wear certain styles of footwear comfortably.

Other foot problems

When more conservative treatments don't eliminate pain and mobility limitations, your doctor assesses surgical options, which are quite successful.

All surgery involves the risk of complications. But it is rare for our patients to experience any adverse effects from the surgeries we perform. Generally, only one to two percent of patients who have foot or ankle surgery have any complications, and even those are temporary and minor.

Surgical treatment for wide feet

While surgery is typically only recommended to fix problems causing discomfort, pain, or long-term health issues, there are surgical options that can reduce your foot width.

Complications of foot and ankle surgery can include infections, swelling and stiffness, and wound haematoma (bleeding). If you're generally healthy the risk of a serious complication from an operation is very small. Every possible care is taken to prevent complications, but in a few cases these do happen.

Generally, a reduction of the soft part of the forefoot is sufficient to narrow a wide foot. However, a bone operation (toe narrowing, hallux valgus surgery, etc.) is sometimes necessary. Recently, cosmetic foot surgery has become a new craze.

To restore the function of your foot. To repair a progressive deformity, like a bunion or hammertoes. To provide relief from excessive pain due to overcompensation. To prevent the risk of falls, sprains, and other injuries due to imbalance.

Health concerns, unrealistic expectations, undergoing surgery for someone else, body dysmorphia, and an unhealthy BMI are all critical factors that may make some individuals unsuitable candidates for surgical procedures.

Both podiatrists and orthopaedic surgeons are qualified to treat foot and ankle conditions, surgically and non-surgically. In general, the best bet is to choose the doctor you feel the most comfortable with, or who has the most experience treating your particular condition.

Pain, which will be worst in the first few days after surgery when the nerve block has worn off. As time passes and the body starts to heal, post-surgical pain lessens.

Why is foot surgery so painful? ›

The bones in your foot and/or ankle are being manipulated in the operating room to correct the problem, which will cause pain. In general, the pain subsides after a few days to a week after surgery, depending on the type of surgery.

In the first week, you must be able to walk with the help of a walker as much as possible without putting any weight on the injured leg. You begin partial weight-bearing as the swelling subsides, and after three to four weeks (let's assume), you should be able to walk normally again.

A surgical procedure to narrow the foot, known as the Cinderella procedure, is one option. If you're not comfortable with the surgical method, you can try daily stretching. Exercises to shrink wide feet will help relieve painful pressure and swelling that can lead to bunions.

Generally speaking, surgery for a foot or ankle problem is usually only considered if: The symptoms you are experiencing are having a noteworthy negative impact on your quality of life. This usually means you're experiencing pain on a daily basis with normal activity.

"Cinderella surgery" is a term for cosmetic procedures that make the feet look better, like fixing a bunion, reshaping the foot, or getting rid of corns, calluses, or other foot problems. The term comes from the story of Cinderella, who couldn't wear her glass slippers because her feet hurt.

Foot narrowing or Cinderella surgery can be undertaken on patients with abnormally wide feet. This is often caused by bunions on one or both sides of the foot (hallux valgus and Tailor's bunion deformity). This is often combined with toe-shortening, or correction of associated toe-deformities such as hammertoes.

In other words, foot surgery or the “cinderella procedure” might cost: Surgeon's fees: $1100 – $2500 per foot i.e. $2000 – $5000 total for both feet. Hospital fees, anaesthetist, surgical assistant fees: $2500 – $4000. A total of around $4500 – $9000 or more depending on the surgeon.

Losing excess weight can cause fat loss and reduce inflammation in your feet. So, if you lose some weight and you have to change your shoe size, your foot has gotten smaller, kind of. The overall structure of your foot hasn't changed, but as mentioned, you've lost fat and reduced inflammation.