The Centre ASSAL
for Foot Care and Surgery
Avenue de Beau-Séjour 6
1206 Geneva - SWITZERLAND
Phone + 41 22 702 24 40
Fax + 41 22 702 24 49
contact@centre-assal.ch
The recent development of less invasive surgical techniques, minimally invasive or percutaneous, allows us to effectively treat a variety of foot and ankle pathologies. These are performed through millimeter incisions and allow the preservation of the tissue envelope around the foot. The success of these techniques requires a high level of expertise in the field and a perfect knowledge of the anatomy of the foot and ankle. ASSAL surgeons are pioneers in the practice of these techniques and have themselves contributed to their development and refinement.
Effective for certain foot deformities such as bunion (hallux valgus) or claw toes, minimally invasive foot surgery consists of a 2-3 mm incision leaving almost no scarring. However, this surgery remains delicate and requires a lot of experience in order to restore a perfect balance to the foot.
Highly effective for certain foot deformities such as bunions minimally invasive foot surgery consists of a 2–3 cm incision that leaves practically no scar. Nevertheless, this surgery is tricky and requires extensive experience for foot balance to be restored perfectly.
Dr Assal invented the minimally invasive Achillon® method, a surgical technique used to repair acute Achilles tendon ruptures. In light of its outstanding success rate, this technique is now used worldwide.
Minimally invasive foot or ankle surgery is also performed when a dynamic foot deformity or a neurological disease requires that a tendon be transferred to another insertion point to restore the lost motion.
Certain fractures are better treated using less invasive surgical methods, such as those in the lower leg, calcaneus or mid-foot.
Percutaneous approaches allow bone to be cut through millimeter-sized incisions. By limiting the size of the incision, scarring problems are reduced and bone healing capacity is optimized. This is the case in heel bone (calcaneus) repositioning osteotomies, which is often necessary in the correction of symptomatic flat feet.
