Happy Feet?

It seems that cosmetic surgery trends know no bounds. The very latest ‘in thing’ is cosmetic foot surgery. It seems it’s no longer good enough just to have a pedicure and paint your toenails. If you want to step out in strappy sandals, or squeeze your feet into expensive designer shoes, you really need to go the extra mile and head down the plastic surgery route.

Here’s a round-up of the most popular treatments you could undergo.

Toe Liposuction

If you feel that your toes look fat and misshapen, you could have liposuction.

Lipo for your toes is carried out as it is on any other area of your body. First of all, the area to be treated is anaesthetised and injected with painkillers. A further injection is then administered to liquefy the fat around the toes. Tiny incisions are made under the toes in the toe creases, and the surgeon extracts the excess fat using a very fine, hollow needle.

The whole procedure lasts about 90 minutes and the effects are immediate. Some bruising should be expected, and you might have to wear flat shoes for a week or so while the procedure site heals.

The cost of toe liposuction varies tremendously and can cost anything from $100, right up to over $2,000. Always choose a reputable clinic for the procedure; cheaper is not necessarily best.

Toe shortening

If you have one toe that’s longer than the others, you may experience problems when wearing designer shoes with high heels and very pointed toes. A solution to this is to have the toe shortened or removed altogether. This might seem drastic, but it’s a procedure that’s growing in popularity.

The procedure takes around 15 minutes per toe and is carried out under a local anaesthetic. The surgeon removes a small portion of a toe joint, the tendons within the joint are then re-joined, and the toe joint is pinned together using metal pins. Following the procedure, you’ll have to wear a special supportive boot until the joint has completely healed. Full recovery can take from between three and six months, during which time you’ll need to wear trainers or comfortable flat shoes.

The cost of toe surgery varies from around $500 up to $3,000, depending on the extent and complexity of the procedure undertaken.

‘Loub’ job

Skyscraper heels can look very sexy, but they’re certainly not the most comfortable footwear to spend a whole day or evening wearing. This problem of sore feet saw the invention of the ‘Loub job’, named after the iconic French shoe designer, Christian Louboutin.

The treatment involves the injection of dermal fillers into the heels, balls of the feet and toes. The filler acts as a cushion between your feet and the shoes, effectively leaving you feeling as though you’re walking on air! The clinician rubs numbing fluid onto the areas to be treated and injects the filler. The procedure is relatively pain-free, and the effects are immediate.

The fillers last for around six months, and the treatment costs about $500 per foot.

Hammer toes

A common problem that can leave your feet looking less than alluring is hammertoes. A hammertoe results when the muscles and ligaments around a toe joint become unbalanced, causing the middle joint of the toe to become bent and fixed in that position. This painful and unsightly condition is easily fixed by your cosmetic surgeon using Botox injections.

In order for the muscle around the toe joint to contract and cause the hammertoe effect, it must receive a chemical signal from a nerve within the toe. Botox injections work by blocking those nerves and thus disrupting the signals to the muscles. The muscles therefore don’t contract, and the hammertoe disappears. The procedure is effective about a week following the injection and lasts for about four months.

Botox for your feet costs from $750 to $1,500, depending on where you have the treatment carried out and the number of syringes required.

Laser hair removal

Some women experience hair growth on their feet and toes as they get older. This embarrassing problem of ‘hobbit feet’ is a particular nuisance for people with dark hair and skin. A popular option to treat hairy feet is laser hair removal.

A powerful laser light is used to kill the hair follicle within the skin, effectively preventing regrowth. The treatment is quick and painless, and the results are usually permanent, although you might need more than one visit to the clinic to achieve the final result you want.

Laser hair removal treatment costs around $500.

Bunions

A lifetime spent wearing high heels can leave you with a painful reddened lump on the outside of the base of your big toe. This lump is called a bunion. Not only are bunions unsightly, they can make it extremely difficult to find shoes that fit comfortably, and strappy foot-revealing sandals are definitely a no-no.

Bunions can be corrected through a bunionectomy procedure that will be carried out in hospital under a general anaesthetic. The surgeon will remove the swollen tissue that forms the bunion, straighten out the toe, and reshape any bones within the joint that have become deformed.

Recovery time takes around three months during which time you’ll have to wear flat shoes, and the results should be permanent, although bunions do have a tendency to regrow over time.

A bunionectomy costs around $3,000, but prices vary depending on the clinic you choose.

In conclusion

It seems that no part of your body is taboo when it comes to surgical or cosmetic enhancement, including your feet. Men reportedly find feet and skyscraper heels very sexy, so investing in ‘happy feet’ could not only make your Jimmy Choos more comfortable, there could be other benefits too!