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Morton's Neuroma Removal by Editorial Staff and Contributors

Definition | Reasons for Procedure | Possible Complications | What to Expect | Call Your Doctor

Definition

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.

Reasons for Procedure

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.

Possible Complications

If you are planning to have this removal, your doctor will review a list of possible complications, which may include:

Recurrence of pain
Numbness in the nearby toes
Bleeding
Infection
Poor wound healing

Some factors that may increase the risk of complications include:

Smoking
Poor nutrition
Long-term illness
Use of certain medicines
Diabetes
Bleeding disorders

What to Expect

Prior to Procedure

You doctor may do the following:

Medical history
Physical exam
X-ray —uses radiation to take pictures of the foot

Anesthesia

Local or general anesthesia will be used. Local anesthesia will numb the area. With general anesthesia, you will be asleep.

Description of Procedure

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.

Nerves of the Foot

After Procedure

The removed tissue will be examined in a lab. The results may take several days.

How Long Will It Take?

Often less than one hour

How Much Will It Hurt?

Anesthesia prevents pain during the procedure. You may have some pain during recovery. Talk to your doctor about medicine to help relieve this pain.

Average Hospital Stay

If there were no complications, you may be able to leave the same day.

Post-procedure Care

When you return home, do the following to help ensure a smooth recovery:

Keep the surgical area clean and dry.
Ask your doctor about when it is safe to shower, bathe, or soak in water.
Use compression and ice to prevent swelling as directed by your doctor .
Keep your foot elevated.
Take antibiotics to prevent infection if advised by your doctor
Take pain medicine as directed by your doctor.

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.

Call Your Doctor

After you leave the hospital, contact your doctor if any of the following occurs:

Signs of infection, including fever and chills
Redness, swelling, increasing pain, excessive bleeding, or discharge from the incision site
Pain that you cannot control with the medicines you have been given
Recurrence of the symptoms in your foot, or new, unexplained symptoms
Cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, or severe nausea or vomiting

In case of an emergency, call for medical help right away.

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/healthLibrary/ . 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 2012 by Rimas Lukas, MD

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