Is age a concern?

Frequently Asked Question

Am I Too Old?

Our concerns with the elderly are ensuring that they are healthy enough to withstand the entire surgical process. This refers to the fact they do not have any significant underlying medical condition such as heart, liver, lung, or kidney diseases. All patients are required to get a detailed history and physical, blood work, and EKG by their primary care physician. Your doctor will confirm that you are healthy enough to have surgery. The eldest patient to have surgery was 88 years old at the time of surgery.

Am I, or My Child, Too Young?

Parents can be overly concerned about their child having bunion surgery. Many surgeons across the country tell people that a child needs to become an adult prior to having foot surgery due to their growth plates in the bones still being present. We perform bunion surgery on children frequently.

A child should not be excluded due to age if they have a significant bunion problem and we always perform an extensive evaluation of the growth plates and they can be avoided during the procedure. There are specific textbooks written about bunion surgery for juvenile bunions (i.e. bunions that occur during adolescence.)

On our Ten in a Row page, two of our patients were 12- and 14-years-old. The youngest patient Dr. Moy has performed surgery on was 8-years-old.

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