Perioperative foot care (preoperative/postoperative surgery)

Perioperative foot care includes follow-up before and after foot surgery, where the podiatrist works closely with the surgeon and physical therapist in charge of the patient’s rehabilitation.

Since the recent Ritz law, podiatrists can now work alongside physical therapists to provide foot rehabilitation following trauma (sprains, fractures, etc. ), as well as after surgery.

Ritz Law: https://www.onpp.fr/communication/actualites/actualites-ordinales/la-loi-rist-sur-l-acces-aux-soins-definitivement-adoptee.html

Pre- and post-operative assessments

These functional assessments consist of a set of data evaluated by the podiatrist (range of motion, functional impairment of the foot in daily life, i.e., disability caused by significant foot deformity, intensity and frequency of pain, etc.) before the surgery planned by the surgeon, then at a later date (usually 4 months).

This allows the patient’s recovery to be closely monitored and optimizes the multidisciplinary work of the practitioners working towards the patient’s optimal recovery.

The preoperative and postoperative assessments, their analysis and comparison will be studied with the patients and forwarded to the various practitioners, under the surgeon’s expert guidance.

Podiatrists and physical therapists, both of whom are involved in functional foot rehabilitation, will support the patient until they have recovered as much as possible and according to their expected goals: resuming walking or leisure or competitive sports, returning to more suitable footwear, etc.

Assessments, muscle testing and range of motion measurements, rehabilitation exercises and temporary pressure-relieving insoles in case of pain, and above all, ongoing communication between healthcare professionals involved in the operation summarize the objective of this specialty.

For high-level athletes, for example, the support provided by practitioners can then be relayed to sports coaches in a reathletization program in order to increase performance once rehabilitation is complete from a surgical/podiatric/physical therapy standpoint.

As part of foot surgery at Canopia Santé, you can, if you wish and on the recommendation of your surgeon, have perioperative podiatric assessments carried out in the month before the operation and then four months after your operation.

The aim is to assess the deformities and functional impairment that led to your surgery, then to reassess you some time after the operation to ensure that your foot is healing optimally.

These assessments, carried out in close coordination with Canopia’s surgeons and physical therapists as well as your personal practitioners, enable optimal follow-up care.

Pre-operative: in the 3 weeks prior to your operation

• Quantification of pain and functional impairment
• Measurement of range of motion and deformities
• Assessment of your overall health and physical pain, whether directly related to your pain management approach or not
• Objectives of the operation and post-operative care (wearing shoes, athletic performance, etc.)

Postoperative: 4 months after your operation

• Postoperative recovery assessment: edema, pain, physical therapy rehabilitation
• Evaluation of the benefits of the operation and areas for improvement
• Measurement of recovered range of motion
• Discussion with surgeons and your local practitioners about follow-up care, requesting additional opinions if necessary
• Advice for the future (sports, etc.)
• Post-operative self-rehabilitation videos

You can use the videos (link here) to help you with your self-rehabilitation at home.

Foot conditions & operations

The most frequently performed operations are:

Forefoot

• Hallux valgus
• Hallux rigidus
• Metatarsalgia
• Morton’s neuroma
• Quintus varus
• Claw toes
• Morton’s neuroma
• Rheumatoid forefoot
• Mucous cyst
• …

Ankle & midfoot, rear foot

• Ankle osteoarthritis
• Subtalar osteoarthritis
• Talo-navicular osteoarthritis
• Ankle ligament surgery
• Plantar fascia rupture
• Achilles tendinopathy
• Partial or complete Achilles tendon rupture
• …