A revolutionary new device allows many foot and ankle surgeries to be done through a ¼ inch incision.
Old fashioned bunion surgery has a bad reputation for being painful and unreliable – big ugly incisions, long recoveries, crutches, casts, and weekly doctor visits. The latest technology in bunion surgery has radically changed all of this, most notably the need for long incisions and the resulting scars on the foot!
Until recently, open surgery has been required to correct bunions, bone spurs, flat feet, fallen arches, big toe arthritis and multiple other painful foot conditions. Now a new surgical tool, FDA approved in the spring of 2017, is available in the United States. Dr. Michael A. Campbell, an Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Surgeon with Atlantic Orthopaedic Specialists, is the first in Hampton Roads trained to use this device. He is bringing minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for several common, painful foot conditions to the area.
“This is a revolution in how foot and ankle surgery can be performed; I equate this advancement to what the Jiffy Hip did to change hip surgery,” said Dr. Campbell. “It’s remarkable.”
Dr. Campbell explained that minimally invasive surgery offers significant advantages in many types of surgery for the foot and ankle. The PROStep, manufactured by Wright Medical, is a specially designed surgical instrument that allows surgeons to cut through or trim off boney structures without damaging the surrounding soft tissue. This is all done through very small incisions, approximately 2-3 millimeters – less than ¼ of an inch! Smaller incisions reduce the risk of post-surgical infection, pain, scars and the time it takes patients to heal skin incisions.
“This new technology is a game changer. It is possibly the most exciting advancement I have seen in foot and ankle surgery in my career. I made it a priority to be among the first surgeons nationally to be trained on the PROStep,” said Dr. Campbell. “I wanted to make it available to patients in this area.”
Recently, Megan Shinn with WVEC TV interviewed Dr. Campbell to discuss the device and its applications in foot and ankle surgery. Watch the video below to learn and see how this revolutionary technology works:
