Foot and ankle surgery in Greenwich

Our ability to balance, stand and move all rely on our feet and ankles working properly. Should we suffer a problem with them, either through injury or disease, we may quickly find ourselves struggling with our normal everyday activities. 

If you have a foot or ankle problem, you’ll know from personal experience just how frustrating and debilitating it can be. You may no longer be able to take part in your favourite sport, be limited in the amount of time you’re able to walk or even find yourself being woken up at night from pain. 

Significant or prolonged pain or stiffness in a foot or ankle can affect your physical, mental and emotional health.  

At The Blackheath Hospital, we can offer you fast access to an experienced Consultant Foot and Ankle Surgeon, who will help you get back to enjoying the activities you most enjoy.  

If your foot or ankle is affected by injury or disease, it will often make walking and standing painful or more challenging. For more significant damage, you may struggle to weight-bear, only able to move about with great difficulty or by using a walking aid like crutches.  If your foot or ankle is affected by injury or disease, it will often make walking and standing painful or more challenging. For more significant damage, you may struggle to weight-bear, only able to move about with great difficulty or by using a walking aid like crutches.  
 
Both your feet together contain one quarter of the bones in your entire body. With the ligaments, muscles, nerves and other structures and tissues also contained in the feet and ankles, it’s no surprise that problems can often occur.  
 
Foot and ankle problems are often categorized depending on the area of the foot they occur in - toe, forefoot, midfoot or ankle. Common problems include: 

Common toe problems:  

• In-growing toenails, 
• Toe deformities, 
• Forefoot pain, 
• Bunions – bony lumps on the side of the feet. 

Common forefoot problems: 

• Bursitis – inflammation of a bursa (a fluid-filled sac that helps to cushion a joint).  
• Morton’s Neuroma – caused by irritation or damage to a nerve in your foot. 
• Flat feet (also known as fallen arches). 

Common midfoot problems: 

• Midfoot pain, 
• Tendon pain,  
• Plantar fasciitis - characterized by pain in your heel or the bottom of your foot. 
• Heel pain,
• Achilles tendonitis – overuse of the Achilles tendon, causing pain along the back of the leg near the heel. 

Common ankle problems: 

• Ankle sprains, 
• Arthritis in the ankle – the most common type of arthritis in the UK is osteoarthritis.
• Over time, the smooth joint surfaces are worn down, causing friction as the bone surfaces move over one another. This causes pain and stiffness in the joint which often gets worse as the arthritis develops. 

Whether you’ve suffered a recent injury while exercising or have been struggling with increasing stiffness in your ankle over a number of years, it can be sensible to seek further medical assessment and advice. Our Consultants have vast experience managing and treating foot and ankle health and will help get you out of pain and back to better function once more. 

When you first meet with your Consultant here at The Blackheath Hospital, they’ll take a medical history and talk with you about your symptoms. They’ll ask you questions like:

• When did your symptoms first start?
  
  
• Was there an obvious cause (for example, did you twist your leg while playing football)?
  
  
• Do you have pain? If so, where on the foot or ankle is it?
  
  
• What type of pain is it? (For example, is it sharp or dull, constant or intermittent?)
  
  
• Have you tried any treatments so far? If so, what have you tried?
  
  
• Have your symptoms been getting worse
  
  
• Are there any movements or activities that relieve or aggravate your symptoms?

They’ll carry out a clinical examination of your foot and ankle to help determine the degree of movement and flexibility you currently have. It also helps them to assess the degree of any pain and/or stiffness in the joints and to see how it is affecting your mobility.

Depending on your specific symptoms, further diagnostic tests may be needed to help diagnosis or to assess the extent of any injury or disease. Our on-site imaging facilities include X-ray, CT, MRI and ultrasound, so we can easily arrange these for you if required.

Once a diagnosis has been made, your Consultant will discuss suitable treatment options with you.

Many foot and ankle conditions can be treated effectively without the need for surgery. Other conditions may need surgery to successfully relieve your symptoms and restore function.

Non-surgical treatments include rest, ice, pain relief medication, physiotherapy and bracing/splinting of the foot or ankle. Surgical options range from a type of keyhole surgery known as arthroscopy through to “open” surgery to repair a nasty or complicated fracture.

Your Consultant will always discuss the treatment plan they recommend, talking with you through any questions or concerns you may have. Any treatment will be tailored to your specific requirements to ensure you receive the best results possible.

By choosing to visit us for your foot and ankle treatment, you’ll benefit from:

• Fast assessment: With fast access to assessment, diagnosis and treatment, we’ll help get you out of pain and back to better mobility sooner.

• Peace of mind: More than 97% of the people we’ve treated in the last year would recommend us to their friends and family. We don’t take this for granted and are constantly looking for ways we can improve the service we offer.

• Flexible appointments: A number of highly experienced Consultant Foot and Ankle Surgeons work with us, so you’ll be able to find an appointment slot that suits your needs and availability.

• Multidisciplinary team: Our Consultants are supported by a team of healthcare professionals, including physiotherapists, nurses and radiographers. The breadth and depth of the team ensures you will always receive the highest level of care.

• Free parking: Just register your car at Reception when you arrive with us and you won’t need to pay for parking during your visit.

If you’re feeling anxious or concerned about a problem with your foot or ankle, it’s important to know that good help is available. There are a number of effective treatment options available, both surgical and non-surgical, for a wide range of injuries and conditions.

Your Consultant will organise any diagnostic tests needed to fully investigate your symptoms and then outline all treatment options for you promptly. If surgery is needed, they will arrange that for you without delay.

If you’re looking for private foot and ankle surgery, whether you live in London or will be travelling from further afield, book your appointment online today.