Foot Surgery

At Associate Foot Specialists Clinic, each of our podiatrists is a highly qualified podiatric surgeon. Depending on your individual foot problem, foot surgery may or may not be an option for you. It is important to discuss all available options, conservative or more aggressive, with your podiatrist.
For patients considering foot surgery, options may include a facility within the Calgary Health Region or Office-Based Surgery.

The facility used may depend on your specific foot condition and general health. Some patients may have the option to choose between office-based surgery and a Calgary Health Region facility. In general, access to surgery is faster in the office than with the Calgary Health Region, where waiting lists are much longer. There are however, increased costs with office-based surgery.

Office Based Surgery is usually performed using local anesthesia, in conjunction with oral sedation. Our office has a fully equipped, private, sterile operating room on-site.

Surgery in a Calgary Health Region Facility is most often performed under local anaesthesia with IV sedation. General anaesthesia is rarely required. Currently, day surgery is performed at the Riverview Surgical Centre or the Peter Lougheed Hospital. Surgeries completed at the Peter Lougheed are often more complex and may require an overnight stay.

Each surgical procedure requires a different type of foot immobilization, such as a bandage, splint, surgical shoe, cast, or a combination of these, in order to prevent flexing of the foot and to ensure proper healing. Good post-operative results require appropriate foot support to prevent future problems. Additional appliances may be required, such as a shower bag, which helps to prevent water from penetrating and thereby infecting the wound.

Post-operative rehabilitation varies widely depending on the foot problem and procedure. Immediately following surgery, patients should rest, stay off their foot, limit activities, and elevate their feet. Patients may return to bearing weight on their foot after a few days, or after a few weeks, depending on their surgery, and if a fixation device, such as a pin or screw was used.

In all cases, it is important to follow all post-operative surgery instructions given to you, in order to minimize potential post-operative complications and to allow proper healing. This may include icing, elevation, range of motion exercises, or physiotherapy.