The Effect of Minimally Invasive Hallux Valgus Surgery on Surgeon Case Volumes in a Single Institution: An Observational Retrospective Trend Analysis

Abstract The effects of the introduction of minimally invasive surgical techniques have been reported in many fields of surgery and subspecialties, including urology, general surgery, surgical oncology, and gynecology; however, the effect that introducing minimally invasive hallux valgus surgery into an institution has on surgical volumes is unknown. In 2019, a single podiatric surgeon in our institution began using a minimally invasive surgical approach to bunion correction, while colleagues continued using an open approach, which afforded the opportunity to compare over time not only trends in minimally invasive versus open surgical volumes, but also those in surgical volumes of the surgeon using a minimally invasive approach with those of colleagues using an open approach. We therefore conducted a retrospective observational trend analysis evaluating 919 hallux valgus surgeries performed by 8 podiatric surgeons from 01/2015 through 12/2024. The surgeon who employed a minimally invasive correction technique had a statistically significant increase in rate of hallux valgus surgeries performed, while surgeons using an open approach overall had a decrease in rate of hallux valgus surgeries performed over the time period. During the study period, the volume of minimally invasive hallux valgus surgeries performed over time also increased. Future investigations are warranted to determine whether these trends can be applied to other types of foot and ankle surgery and to better understand what implications this suggests for shaping foot and ankle surgeon education/training, predicting healthcare costs related to these procedures, and ultimately providing superior patient outcomes.