Tailor's Bunion Questions

Q. I have a tailor's bunion, which so far does not hurt. I have osteoarthritis and recently had bone spurs shaved.

Should I ignore the bunions? Thanks

A. A tailor's bunion is a common deformity of the foot. It involves enlargement of the head of the fifth metatarsal bone.

Generally speaking the deformity as well as the patient's medical health should be evaluated by a podiatrist. The decision to ignore or treat the condition should be based on the level of discomfort that the deformity causes and all underlying medical risk factors.

Q. Are tailor bunion's a progressive disorder? In other words, will they get worse over time?

A. Tailor's bunions can be progressive deformities. The most common underlying cause of the progressive nature of the condition is compromise of the structural health of a patient's foot.

Determining the latter is important to providing a proper answer to this patient's question.