Morton's neuroma: your operation in Cannes by Dr Lopez
Morton's Neuroma and its operation in Cannes are part of Dr Julien Lopez's specialties: medical treatment, surgery, recovery... You will be able to benefit from a tailor-made follow-up throughout the duration of the care process.
Dr Lopez offers appointment booking by phone or online through the Doctolib platform. Do you have a question about a step in the care pathway? The Doctor and his team remain at your entire disposal and will be happy to answer all your questions. Do not hesitate to contact us via the contact form. To carry out a consultation, all you have to do is go to one of the 4 offices of Dr Julien Lopez in Nice, Cap d'Ail or Mandelieu.
Morton's neuroma: surgery in Cannes, symptoms...
Dr Julien Lopez explains everything there is to know about Morton's Neuroma: surgery, symptoms...
What is Morton's Neuroma?
Morton's neuroma is a condition causing one of the most intense pains you can have in the foot. It is the compression of a nerve located between two toes (or two metatarsal heads). The chronic compression of the nerve will then lead to a thickening of it. It can be the nerve located between the third and fourth metatarsal head or more rarely between the second and third metatarsal head. The plantar nerves are responsible for the sensitivity of the toes, which is why their compression can be very painful for patients suffering from Morton's Neuroma.
This condition usually only appears on one foot. In some cases, however, Morton's Neuromas can be observed on both feet at the same time.
Symptoms of Morton's Neuroma
The main symptom of the appearance of Morton's Neuroma is pain. It is usually characterized by very sharp and sudden pain when walking, running or wearing tight shoes. Patients with this pathology complain of pain in the form of burning or electric shock. Most of the time, symptoms can be relieved by removing the shoes.
At an advanced stage, the pain may become permanent and be associated with cramps in the arch of the foot and tingling in the toes. When pain appears, it becomes essential to consult a Morton's Neuroma specialist in Cannes.
Morton's Neuroma Surgery, Risk Factors and Diagnosis
Before carrying out the Morton's Neuroma operation, Dr. Lopez will inform you of the results you can expect from the surgery, the operative risks as well as the operative consequences.
Risk factors
There are certain factors favoring the appearance of Morton's Neuroma:
- Forefoot malformations such as flat feet, hallux valgus or metatarsalgia.
- Poorly adapted footwear: wearing shoes with heels or shoes that are too tight, prolonged walking, trampling, etc.
- Certain inflammatory diseases or a history of carpal tunnel.
How do we make the diagnosis?
In order to diagnose Morton's Neuroma, the foot specialist will prescribe various medical imaging exams.
X-ray
This examination will allow the Doctor to be able to analyze the architecture of the forefoot. The objective of the X-ray is to identify or eliminate the presence of other foot pathologies or deformities that may be responsible for Morton's Neuroma, such as static metatarsalgia, hallux valgus or flat foot, for example.
Ultrasound
Ultrasound is a complementary examination that will allow the foot to be examined dynamically while mobilizing the toes. In parallel, an ultrasound will also help Morton's foot surgeon to detect the presence of bursitis in order to perform an infiltration.
MRI
If the ultrasound and X-ray did not identify the pathology you are suffering from, Dr. Julien Lopez can prescribe an MRI examination to establish a precise diagnosis. MRI is sometimes negative, but it does not eliminate the diagnosis 100%.
Morton syndrome operation in Cannes: treatment and recovery
For the operation of Morton syndrome in Cannes, there are several surgical and non-surgical treatments.
Non-surgical treatments
For Morton's syndrome, surgery is not the first-line treatment.
Dr. Lopez will always refer you to non-surgical treatments first. Implemented prematurely, non-surgical treatment can have very good results on Morton's Neuroma.
At first, you will be recommended to adapt your footwear and move towards flat and wider shoes in order to limit the compression of the forefoot.
It is also advisable to limit prolonged walks or sports that are too violent for your feet.
Wearing orthopedic insoles can also provide effective symptom relief. To do this, Dr. Lopez will refer you to a podiatrist who will make custom insoles adapted to your case. They will relieve the painful area by decompressing the Neuroma and spreading the metatarsal heads.
The surgeon for the Morton and foot syndrome operation in Cannes may also prescribe corticosteroid injections. These are performed in the bursitis located around the nerve.
In case of failure of all these treatments, Dr. Lopez will propose surgery.
The operation
There are two main surgical treatments:
Neurolysis
This operation consists of operating on Morton's neuroma by cutting the intermetatarsal ligament which is crushing the nerve. This act results in removing the compression from the nerve and effectively relieving the pain. Neurolysis is used for the early stages of Morton's Neuroma.
Neurotomy
This intervention consists of a section or resection of the nerve. This act has the consequence of completely desensitizing the toes thanks to a definitive interruption of the nerve.
For Morton's syndrome, the surgery is minimally invasive thanks to gestures performed percutaneously or by a minimal incision of 15mm to significantly reduce postoperative pain.
After surgery
Foot surgery for Morton's Neuroma is performed on an outpatient basis under locoregional anesthesia. This type of surgery will allow the patient to return home quickly and benefit from full foot support directly after surgery.
Dressings will be applied every two days until the foot has completely healed.
It is important to limit your walking time as much as possible and to avoid prolonged walks.
In order to reduce the risk of poor healing, it is recommended to limit your cigarette consumption before and after the operation.
It is also imperative not to apply ice to the freshly operated foot. Indeed, the ice has the effect of producing a constriction of the arteries of the foot which can be harmful for your recovery.
The resumption of driving can take place 3 weeks after the intervention. Sports activities and prolonged walks can be resumed 6 weeks after Morton's Neuroma surgery. You will be able to benefit from a work stoppage for a period of 2 to 4 weeks as part of Morton's Neuroma surgery.
For Morton's disease, the operation generally obtains very good results and makes it possible to completely overcome the Neuroma and the pain it causes.
