Foot surgery

Our orthopaedic teams care for the foot and ankle, treating problems without surgery wherever possible and operating when it's the right step. Their work reaches from a painful bunion to a broken ankle, and includes the diabetic foot, at our hospitals and clinics across the UAE.

What is foot surgery?

Foot and ankle surgery is the orthopaedic care of the foot and ankle. It treats conditions such as bunions and flat feet, along with injuries like ankle sprains and fractures. Most problems get better without surgery, so an operation isn't always needed, and treatment usually starts with footwear advice or orthotics. A podiatrist provides routine foot, nail and skin care, while a foot surgeon handles the conditions that may need surgery. The same team guides your recovery and rehabilitation afterwards.

When should you see a foot and ankle surgeon?

Book an appointment if you notice:

• Foot or ankle pain that won't settle with rest
• A bump such as a bunion or a toe that curls or overlaps
• Heel pain that's worst on your first steps in the morning
• An ankle that keeps giving way or feels unstable
• A foot or ankle injury that is slow to heal
• Numbness or burning pain in the ball of the foot

A hot, red or swollen foot in someone living with diabetes needs urgent same-day medical care.

There's no need to wait for pain to become severe. Left untreated, many foot problems slowly get worse and become harder to correct. If you have diabetes, poor circulation or a foot shape that causes repeated problems, regular checks help catch trouble early. Whether a referral is needed can depend on your insurer, so it's worth checking your cover before you book.

What to expect

At your first visit, the surgeon asks about your symptoms and examines how your foot looks and moves, watching you stand and walk. Because the bones shift under load, an X-ray is often taken while you are standing, so the alignment shows clearly. The surgeon also checks the blood flow and feeling in your foot, which matters most if you have diabetes.

Treatment starts with the least invasive option that fits the problem. That might mean better footwear, custom insoles, physiotherapy or a steroid injection to calm pain and swelling. If these don't help, or the problem is a fracture or a serious deformity, surgery may be the next step. Recovery times vary, and your surgeon talks you through the choices and agrees a plan that suits your daily life.

Foot surgery at Mediclinic

In Dubai we run a dedicated foot and ankle clinic. We bring together an orthopaedic surgeon with sports medicine and diabetes colleagues, so a problem is looked at from more than one angle. Because that clinic offers both non-surgical treatment and surgery, your care can stay with one team from first assessment onwards. Surgery ranges from bunion correction to keyhole ankle surgery and ankle joint replacement. For people living with diabetes, our team joins orthopaedic and diabetes care to manage and reconstruct the diabetic foot. You'll find that dedicated clinic and its named procedures in Dubai. Foot and ankle surgery is also part of our wider orthopaedic service in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.