For most women, there is really no getting around heels. Of course patient advocates and podiatrists have been cautioning women against wearing high heels, but it is a losing proposition when you consider the social pressures involved. Formal occasions, professional meetings, and even routine social engagements dictate that women wear heels (or look out of place). Unfortunately, women’s feet do not always fit comfortably in high heel shoes, which is why the Cinderella procedure was developed.
The Cinderella procedure is a clever (but not very descriptive) name. Granted, this cosmetic foot surgery does help place a woman’s foot inside the perfect shoe, but the name does not really tell the story. While the Cinderella procedure may evoke images of a royal ball, a dashing prince, and teeny, tiny feet, in truth it is really just a glorified bunion surgery. However when you are trying to market cosmetic surgery for the feet, calling it bunion surgery is not the sexiest approach.
To be fair, the current Cinderella procedure is a big improvement over previous iterations of bunion surgery. Surgeons have developed a way of removing the unsightly bunions from the side of the feet while reducing recovery time in half. In other words, while it used to take women about two months to recovery from bunion surgery, most patients are back in high heels one month after the Cinderella procedure.
Unlike other plastic surgery procedures, the Cinderella procedure is performed by a podiatrist and not a plastic surgeon. Not only does the surgery involve the feet (the podiatrist’s domain) but the bones of the feet are cut (not something that is usually within the plastic surgeon’s area of expertise). Cosmetic foot surgery usually involves the removal of a bunion, which is essentially the bulging of the first knuckle of the big toe. It also includes revision of a Tailor’s bunion, which is simply a regular bunion that affects the smallest toe. Finally, if one or two toes stick out farther than the others, the Cinderella procedure may include shortening the longer toes.
There are no bones removed in this cosmetic foot surgery, but the bones are shaved. This bone shaving is what makes many women take pause and question whether the Cinderella procedure is worth it. Should women remove parts of functional bones in their feet simply for fashion? There is no right or wrong answer to this question, but it certainly is something that each woman must consider before consenting to surgery. Remember that even though recovery time has been cut in half, it still may take up to four weeks. Also, there are other treatments for bunions that do not require surgery. While possibly less effective and require longer treatment times, alternate therapies could eliminate the need for cosmetic foot surgery altogether.