Morton's neuroma is an inflammation of a nerve in the foot that goes to the toes. Surgical treatment involves removing the area of inflammation and the nerve.
Morton's neuroma can cause pain and tingling. Morton's neuroma removal is done to alleviate these symptoms. After the removal, most patients have good pain relief.
If you are planning to have this removal, your doctor will review a list of possible complications, which may include:
Some factors that may increase the risk of complications include:
You doctor may do the following:
Local or general anesthesia will be used. Local anesthesia will numb the area. With general anesthesia, you will be asleep.
A small incision will be made on the top of the foot. It will be made between the two toes that are affected by the neuroma. The area of inflammation and the nerve will be located and removed. The incision will then be closed with stitches. A bandage will be applied over the area.
The removed tissue will be examined in a lab. The results may take several days.
Often less than one hour
Anesthesia prevents pain during the procedure. You may have some pain during recovery. Talk to your doctor about medicine to help relieve this pain.
If there were no complications, you may be able to leave the same day.
When you return home, do the following to help ensure a smooth recovery:
The stitches are usually removed in the doctor's office 7-10 days after the surgery. You will gradually be able to return to full activities within 3-6 weeks. The small area where the nerve was removed is likely to remain numb.
After you leave the hospital, contact your doctor if any of the following occurs:
RESOURCES:
American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons
http://www.acfas.org/
American Podiatric Medical Association
http://www.apma.org/
CANADIAN RESOURCES:
Alberta Podiatry Association
http://www.albertapodiatry.com/
Canadian Podiatric Medical Association
http://www.podiatrycanada.org/
References:
American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons website. Available at: http://www.acfas.org/.
American Podiatric Medical Association website. Available at: http://www.apma.org/s_apma/index.asp.
Mann RA. Foot and ankle. In: DeLee and Drez's Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders; 2003.
Morton's neuroma. EBSCO Health Library website. Available at: http://www.ebscohost.com/thisTopic.php?marketID=15topicID=81. Accessed March 25, 2008.
Scardina RJ, Lee SM. Frontera: Essentials of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Philadelphia, PA; Hanley and Belfus; 2002.
Thomson CE, Gibson JN, Martin D. Interventions for the treatment of Morton's neuroma. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2004;CD003118.
Last reviewed November 2009 by Rimas Lukas, MD
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