It's love at first sight for women and shoes, but unfortunately not all pairs fit just right. Finds that are overly snug or too spacious force women to either take it or leave it. Well, a new (kinda crazy) solution has emerged, which, although may solve women’s shoe problems for good, might cause instant regret (not to mention pain).
The New York Times is reporting that there’s a new trend among women to chop off parts of their feet to fit into shoes, specifically heels. Women undergo these body-altering surgeries to make their feet fit the shoes and to increase their comfort.
Dr. Ali Sadrieh, a California podiatrist, explained: “Patients would bring in shoes they dreamed of wearing. On the surface, it looked shallow. But I came to see she needs these shoes to project confidence, they are part of her outside skin. That’s the real world.”
Dr. Sadrieh describes his foot surgery as a “fusion of medicine and fairy tale,” turning bunionectomies into Cinderella procedures. As the name suggests, the Cinderella surgery allows for his patients to fit their shoe more comfortably. Among his other procedures are: toe shortening, known as the Perfect 10; toe lengthening, known as the Model T, and fat pad augmentation known as the Foot Tuck.
One woman, Susan Deming, told Fox News that she underwent toe shortening surgery, which cut off a centimeter from her second toe. She had the procedure done because she could no longer find a comfortable pair of shoes due to the constant calluses that formed on her left foot.
“I've never felt this good about something I've done,” Deming admitted. “If it's vain, it's vain.”
But the trend isn’t just occurring in Los Angeles, where Dr. Sadrieh is based. Doctors across the country are also seeing this trend. But despite this, some aren’t completely on board with the reasons why women are altering their feet.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jonathan T. Deland told the New York Times, “The most important thing about a foot is that it doesn't hurt you and you can function. If we're just talking about three-and-a-half-inch-heel stilettos that cause pain and if they wear a two-and-a-half-inch heel with no pain, then that's probably not a good reason to do surgery.”
World Lifestyle writer Linda Barsi also agreed that the foot surgery trend is ridiculous. “Isn’t the whole idea of a piece of clothing that we wear it and it doesn’t wear us?” she wrote.
While foot surgery can be a solution for relieving pain, doctors warn that not all shoes are meant to be worn by everyone.
Podiatrist William Spielfogel admitted: “A lot of people want to fit a square peg into a round hole, and it just doesn't work. Sometimes you have to be somewhat realistic.”
What do you think of the idea of having surgery so you can fit into shoes? Sound off in the comments below.
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