Hallux Valgus (HV) surgery is the most common surgery performed in the foot. The Cochrane review done in 2004 showed that no osteotomy is superior to another, however, surgery was shown to be superior to conservative or no treatment for Hallux Valgus deformity. We performed a postal survey in August 2005, to determine the most common procedures performed for HV deformity, type of anaesthesia used, and the length of stay for Hallux Valgus surgery across the United Kingdom.

A list of foot and ankle surgeons was obtained from the BOFAS register and a questionnaire was sent. We received 122 (61%) responses from 200 questionnaires sent. Out of which 4 had retired and 118 were available for analysis.

The table below demonstrates the common procedures performed by those who replied. Eight-eight percent of the surgeons used foot block along with GA, 9% used GA only and 3% performed the surgery under regional anaesthesia only. Forty percent of surgeons performed the surgery on an overnight stay basis and 30% performed the surgery as a day case. Twenty-five percent of surgeons mentioned that they performed unilateral surgery as a day case and bilateral surgery on an overnight stay basis. Less than 5% kept the patients for more than 2 days.

From the responses, most surgeons in the United Kingdom perform Scarf osteotomy with or without Akin osteotomy for Hallux Valgus correction. The majority performed it on an overnight stay basis or as a day case. Most commonly, foot block along with NSAID’s were used for post-operative pain relief.