If your foot doctor recommends surgery for your foot or ankle, it's probably because other treatments haven't worked well enough. Or, it might be because you have a sudden injury that needs surgery right away.

Examples of Foot and Ankle Surgery

Surgery on the foot and ankle can help with different problems and injuries. It might be necessary to put broken bones back in line, fix a deformity, rebuild or join a joint damaged by arthritis, mend torn tendons or ligaments, or take out damaged or sick tissue.

Fractures: When a foot or ankle fracture shifts or doesn’t line up properly, surgery is often needed to fix it. This helps to make sure the foot or ankle can work right and lowers the chance of it being misshapen.

Bunion and hammertoe correction: Bunions and hammertoes are foot problems that might require surgery to ease pain and fix the deformity for good. There are different kinds of surgeries, some less invasive, that help to straighten and steady tendons, bones, and joints in both of these conditions.

Ankle surgery for arthritis: When arthritis badly hurts the ankle and affects a person’s daily life with pain, swelling, and trouble moving, surgery might be needed. Ankle fusion joins two bones in the ankle together into one piece. Ankle replacement uses artificial parts made of metal and plastic to replace damaged bones and cartilage. Sometimes, less invasive methods can also be used for these surgeries.

Achilles tendon repair: When tendons like the posterior tibialis tendon or the Achilles tendon get worn out over time or tear suddenly, surgery might be necessary to repair them correctly. This helps to ease pain, reduce swelling, and make the tendon work better again. Some of these surgeries can be done with smaller cuts, which is called minimally invasive.

Ankle stabilization: If you keep spraining your ankle or it doesn't heal right, it can make your ankle weak over time. Your doctor might recommend a surgery called lateral ankle ligament reconstruction to tighten the ligaments on the outside of your ankle. This helps to make your ankle stable, stop long-term pain, and avoid more sprains in the future.

Wound debridement: This procedure removes dead tissue from a wound or ulcer on the foot of someone with diabetes. It helps the wound heal and stops an infection from getting worse. Podiatric surgeons might also do other surgeries for diabetic ulcers, like skin grafting or vascular surgery.

If you want to know more about which foot or ankle surgery could help your condition, talk to your foot doctor.