Management of acute lesser toe pain.

Patients with foot pain commonly present to their primary care physicians for their initial management and treatment. These patients and their respective foot or lesser toe pain can present the physician with a complex problem with a long differential list. Depending on the timing of the pain and underlying pathology, these differentials can be divided into acute and acute exacerbation of chronic conditions. This review categorizes the history, physical exam, radiological findings, conservative treatment, and surgical management for each major cause of lesser toe pain, whether acute or chronic. The acute conditions surrounding lesser toe pain in the adult population discussed are toe fractures, toe dislocations, and metatarsal head and neck fractures. The chronic pathologies surrounding lesser toe pain in the adult population evaluated in this review include metatarsalgia, Morton's neuroma, Freiberg infraction, brachymetatarsia, bunionettes, and lesser toe disorders.

Anatomical considerations for minimally invasive osteotomy of the fifth metatarsal for bunionette correction - A pilot study.

INTRODUCTION: Operative correction of symptomatic bunionette by means of minimally invasive (MI) osteotomies of the 5th metatarsal (M5) has gained popularity. This study aims to investigate the safe zones of commonly used techniques and the risk of injury to neurological structures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten human fresh frozen cadaveric feet were dissected and branches of the sural nerve were identified. A frontal section of the feet was performed at the site of the skin incision described for M5 MI osteotomies (corresponding to distal and mid diaphyseal osteotomies). The location of the lateral dorsal cutaneous nerve (LDCN) of the sural nerve or its branches was documented using a goniometer and o'clock references placed on the frontal section of the M5. RESULTS: The LDCN showed variations in the distribution of its branches, forming the dorsolateral branch - a single terminal branch for the 5th toe - in 6/10 cases or two terminal branches - the dorsolateral and dorsomedial - in 4/10. At the point of osteotomies, the dorsolateral branch was identified at a mean of 22.7° from the extensor tendon around the M5 circumference and in all cases between 12 and 2 o'clock in a right foot or 10 o'clock to 12 o'clock in a left. CONCLUSION: The studied M5 osteotomies can place the dorsolateral branch of the fifth toe at risk and safe zones lie between 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock in any foot laterality. If these landmarks are considered, the risk of nerve damage is minimized when performing MI osteotomies of the M5.

Neuroma under the fifth metatarsal head. A retrospective study.

This retrospective study was carried out over 83 surgical cases at the distal portion of the fifth metatarsal, compromising the treatment of tailor's bunion, fifth metatarsal overload and the concomitant presence of both pathologies in some cases. Neuromas were founded under the fifth metatarsal head in 18 of the cases studied (21.7%). The results look at whether if there is an association between different fifth metatarsal pathologies and the presence of neuromas and found a significant association between the appearance of neuromas in patients with the same metatarsal overload, especially if it is accompanied by a tailor's bunion pathology.

Early results of distal metatarsal osteotomy with K-wire fixation in the treatment of tailor's bunion.

OBJECTIVE: Tailor's bunion deformity is a lateral side bone and soft tissue prominence of the fifth metatarsal bone. The aim of our study was to assess the clinical and radiographic results of distal metatarsal osteotomies in patients with tailor's bunion deformity. METHODS: This study included 24 feet of 14 patients with tailor's bunion who were treated with distal metatarsal osteotomy of the 5th metatarsal between 2006 and 2009. The mean follow-up time was 24.45 (range: 12 to 47) months. Patients were evaluated clinically and radiographically, using the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) scoring system with weight-bearing anteroposterior and lateral foot radiographs. RESULTS: Average AOFAS scores of the patients were 64.83 preoperatively and 91.62 at the final follow-up. Three patients had complications; avascular necrosis, delayed union, and superficial wound infection. CONCLUSION: Distal metatarsal osteotomy is a safe and easy treatment option for the painful tailor's bunion deformity and provides patient satisfaction rate of up to 96%.