Get your toes removed here!
by Jess McCabe // 14 January 2008, 16:05
When I wrote about Mikhaela Reid's comic satirising the trend towards body-hating feats of surgery, I assumed that her depiction of a toe-bypass was an exaggeration to make a point. After all, it was listed next to the 'belly-dectomy' (the complete removal of the stomach, leaving only guts spilling out of the hole!).
But apparently I was wrong. From Julie Bindel's interview with plastic surgery advisor Wendy Lewis:
Toe removal also features in Lewis's book. The growth of this procedure is apparently the result of the popularity of expensive designer heels. Second and third toes that poke out beyond the big toe can be shortened, and crooked fourth and fifth toes can be straightened out. The operation involves cutting a piece of bone out of the joint and reattaching the tendon. Another option is the removal of the baby toe to make pointed shoes more comfortable. Like all surgery, this procedure carries a risk of lifelong pain and disablement.
Photo by KIMBERLY78, shared under a Creative Commons license
Founder of The F-Word, Catherine Redfern, has co-authored a new book with Kristin Aune. Find out more at the 
