Claw Toe Correction

Edited by Stephen Pinney, MD

 

Indications

A clawtoe deformity that has failed non-operative management may be amendable to surgical correction. Depending on the nature of the clawtoe deformity, one of a variety of surgical options may be needed. These typically might include one of the following;

• Proximal Interphalangeal (PIP) joint fusion
• Flexor to extensor tendon transfer
• Extensor tendon lengthening
• Flexor tendon release
• Metatarsal Phalangeal (MTP) joint capsulotomy

Claw toe deformities develop as a result of an imbalance between the various muscles pulling on the toe. Therefore, surgical correction of a claw toe is usually not just a matter of straightening the toe.  Surgery to straighten the toe often needs to be combined with rebalancing of the muscle tendon forces that caused the deformity in the first place.

 

 

Edited on May 23, 2017

mf/ 11.19.18