And- we’re back with the conclusion of the Discovery Channel’s series on Dr. Selner’s bunion surgery on his patient, Norman who had quite a train wreck in his great toe. Norman is a busy lawyer who loves to hike with his dogs, and this pain was not only ruining his time, but compromising his gait, and hurting his back.
In this segment, we are inside the joint capsule, and two angled cuts are made with the bone saw (did I mention that if you are squeamish, this may not be for you?) A triangular piece of bone is taken out, and the toe, which was pointing toward the other toes, is realigned to a straight position. When all is satisfactory, a temporary pin is placed to hold the alignment and to prepare for screw fixation.

Now the pin is removed and the screw fixates the toe in its new and improved orientation. Dr. Selner sees a huge change in range of motion in both extension and flexion. Next, he removes the bunion that was protruding, and finishes by remodeling the surface of the bone to eliminate rough spots and pressure points.

Finally, Norman’s toe is stitched up with dissolvable stiches inside, and removable sutures on top that are “woven” to minimize scarring. He will go home in a stiff, wooden post-op shoe, and progress to tennis shoes at 8 days. Soon, he is hiking in his beloved foothills.