Percutaneous Bunionette Correction

This study used 24 lower limbs from 12 fresh frozen cadavers. The specimens were obtained via the Human Body Donation programme of the University. Specimens with previous foot surgery or trauma have been excluded. All surgery was performed by two surgeons. One surgeon was a foot and ankle surgeon with over 5 years of experience with percutaneous surgery. The second surgeon was a 4th-year registrar in the speciality of orthopaedic surgery. The experience in percutaneous foot surgery was limited to one training session on cadaveric specimens.

The procedures were carried out in a cadaveric lab. The limbs were positioned on standard dissection tables and thawed 24 hrs prior to the experiments. The first 16 surgeries were performed by the first (experienced) surgeon, the other 8 surgeries were performed by the second surgeon.

The skin incision was performed using a Swann Morton 64 Beaver mini blade. A Shannon 44 Long burr was connected to an electrical power driven system of the “de Prado” type. The base power was controlled by a foot pedal allowing the surgeon to keep his hands free for surgery. The osteotomy was performed by making a supination movement with the dominant hand holding the Shannon 44 Long burr. The maximum speed of the burr was 7000 rpm. According to the dominant hand of the surgeon, the technique was slightly different when operating on the right or left foot. Both surgeons were right-handed. When performing surgery on a right foot, the incision was slightly medial to the shaft of the metatarsal on the distal third of the diaphysis.