With a minimal incision procedure their is less tissue handling and therefore, less trauma and a lot less postoperative pain and swelling. Often the results are dramatic and patients can walk the following day after minimal incision surgery . It should be stressed, however, that minimal incision surgery is still a surgical procedure and the potential for postoperative pain can vary from patient to patient. While some patients walk right after bunion surgery and have minimal discomfort, others find that it can be sore for many months. Many people ask about lasers for bunions.
Laser is a finely focused beam of light that vaporizes tissue and turns water in the cells to steam.
Bone does not have the water content that soft tissue does and therefore lasers cannot be used to vaporize bone. Some podiatric surgeons may use a laser to make their incision, but it is misleading to think that the laser is going to vaporize a bunion away. At the present time, technology has not developed a procedure for lasers to correct the bone build-up of a bunion. If you are having mild discomfort from a bunion, the chances are you don't need surgery. Your foot mechanics should be assessed to determine why you are developing the problem and whether or not changing the way you are walking with an orthotic device would alleviate the pressure on the bunion.