3131 Nassau St, Suite 101
Everett, WA 98201
(425) 339-8888
Fax (425) 258-6933
Foot & Ankle Information Sites:
FootPhysicians.com: An excellent web site run by the American College of Foot & Ankle Surgeons for patients. There are pod casts on various foot problems as well as other useful information. Dr. Mary Crawford will be the first female president of this organization in March 2009.
Clinical Practice Guidelines: From American College of Foot & Ankle Surgeons on bunions, flatfoot, and diabetic foot. Technical language is used but treatment pathways are outlines and documents are well illustrated.
Textbook of Hallux Valgus and Forefoot Surgery: This is a 500 page textbook on foot surgery that is available on line on PDF files. This has technical language but can provide some useful insights to bunion and other forefoot surgery.
Local Shoe Store Resources:
Medical Supply:
Coming soon
Walking Trails:
Hospital Affiliations:
Local Lodging and Accomodations:
Painful calluses on the ball of the foot are caused by an abnormal alignment of the metatarsal bones. There are five metatarsal bones in each foot, each consisting of the long bones behind each toe. The metatarsal bone behind the big toe is called the first metatarsal, and so on.
The most common metatarsal surgery is performed on the first metatarsal for the correction of bunions.
Surgery on the second through fifth metatarsal bones is performed infrequently, and is usually done to treat painful calluses on the bottom of the foot or non-healing ulcers on the ball of the foot. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis may also need metatarsal surgery.
During surgery, the metatarsal bone is cut just behind the toe. Generally, the bone is cut all the way through, and then manually raised and held in its corrected position with a metal pin or screw. Following the surgery, the patient's foot may be placed in a cast.
In some instances, a surgeon will also cut out the painful callous on the bottom of the foot, but most prefer to do the procedure in an outpatient setting.