1. What is a corn?

“Corn” is also known as “heloma” in a medical term which describes thick areas of skin that develop as a result of an excessive amount of pressure and friction being applied to the skin. Corns, rather than being a defect, are our body’s protective mechanism from further damage. There are types of corn that develop; hard corns known as heloma durum and soft corns known as heloma molle.

2. What causes painful corns?

Corns can be caused by a number of reasons;

• Enlarged joint
• Wearing tight/pointed shoes
• Adductovarus deformity of the toe: a crooked toe that moves under the adjacent toe

3. Conservative Treatments

Non-operational treatments: aims to reduce excessive pressure.

• Regular podiatry visit: Podiatrists can reduce the painful corn by debridement and manufacture custom-made toe separator to reduce excessive pressure
• Avoid wearing tight/pointed shoes
• Do not use a corn pad as it contains salicylic-acids and when applied improperly, these corn pads can create a chemical burn in healthy tissue that may result in infections and ulcers.

 4. Surgical Treatment

Surgery aims to remove enlarge joint (arthroplasty) and surgery is relatively simple with a small incision over the toe.

• Do I need surgery?

Whether you have surgery or not is purely your choice. Surgery is usually recommended if conservative treatments have failed to provide good relief.

• What does the surgery involve?

Surgery for painful interditial corn is a relatively quick and easy surgery. It usually involves:

• A small incision(around 2 cm) over the toe
• Removal of the condyle (head part of phalanx)
• Repair of tendon, capsule and skin closure
• If there is a tight tendon or contracted skin, tenotomy or lengthening of tendon or skin plasty are performed to address these problems
• Anaesthetics: Various anaesthetics are available (General or spinal block or local anaesthetics with sedation)

5. After the surgery

• Keep your foot elevated as much as possible and apply an ice pack for the first week following surgery
• Your dressing will be changed between 3-7 days at the office after surgery
• Keep your dressing dry for the first 2 weeks after surgery
• Sutures will be removed between 2-3 weeks after surgery
• You are able to weight-bear on the heel in the postop surgical shoe
• You need expect to wear postop surgical shoes for 1-2 weeks