|
Calluses
A callus is an area of thickened skin located on the bottom of
the foot, in most cases on the ball of the foot and/or the heel.
The most common cause of calluses on the ball of the foot is a
"declination" of one or more of the long bones of the foot called metatarsal bones, of
which there are five in each foot normally. Since one or more of these metatarsal bones is/are
lower than the the others, the bone(s) bear more weight. A callus forms under the end of the
metatarsal bone in order to protect the bone form trauma.
In the case of some severe calluses, a small core of "nucleus"
can be found within the callus, and if present, the patient usually feels as though he/she is walking
on a small pebble. The procedure most often performed at Center for Advanced Foot
Surgery is as follows. A small incision (approximately 1/8 inch) is made on the top of the
foot at the neck of the affected metatarsal bone, and the metatarsal head is repositioned toward the
top of the foot enough to redistribute the weight. If the callus has a "nucleus," this is removed
from the bottom of the foot with a laser and is sent to our pathology lab for analysis. In most
cases, this "nucleus" is a "Porokeratoma" or a benign "plugged sweat gland."
|
