Stilettos Spike Cosmetic Surgery Demands

By Dr. Surjit Rai

A fashionable woman loves fashionable shoes and will wear high heels all day every day. Now a new health problem is emerging called StilettoTarsal. From putting so much relative weight on the balls of their feet for years, some women now have chronic inflammation.

To get this treated, they are seeking dermal fillers in their feet in a procedure called the Foot Filler. By plumping up the balls of their feet, these injections protect the nerves and soft tissue so women can continue teetering fashionably along the pavements of Europe and Britain.

Other stiletto-caused problems are corns, bunions, blisters, deformed toes, flat feet, and even knee, hip and back problems. None of this discourages fashion designers, who have made five-inch heels popular in Britain and have just announced a new eight-inch heel.

Nor does it discourage women who look to their sexy shoes for self-esteem.

• One young accountant in London is scheduled for an expensive three-hour procedure to shorten her toes, remove corns and straighten some of her toes. ‘I know it sounds extreme,’ she said. ‘And the operation does scare me a little, as I don’t like the thought of, perhaps, not being able to walk for up to six months afterwards, but for me, it really is a price worth paying for pretty feet.’
• A young design assistant in London has bunions and knee problems after ten years of wearing high heels for 18 hours each day for her work. She can no longer get her shoes on at all, although she owns hundreds of pairs of stilettos, platforms and wedges. Her planned surgery is too expensive for her, but she says, ‘I’m desperate for the operation and hopefully I’ll have it soon. I can’t bear that I can’t wear my stilettoes at the moment, I just don’t feel sexy without them.’

Other women are having cosmetic surgery to narrow their feet or lengthen their toes, back operations and knee surgery — anything to avoid having to wear trainers. ‘My doctor has warned me,’ said one, ‘That I risk doing myself permanent damage, but I tried wearing trainers for a while and I felt ugly. So I’ll just have to grit my teeth through the pain.’

At Cosmetic Surgical Center we counsel moderation and common sense. While many cosmetic surgeries can indeed raise self-esteem and improve physical appearance in a healthy way, it would appear that each person must draw a line somewhere and accept what nature has given them.

If you would like more information about cosmetic procedures we offer, such as injectable fillers, breast augmentation or liposuction, please contact our office for a personal consultation.