The shortening of the bone is caused by the growth plate pre-maturely closing before growing out to full length. The cause why this happens is still mostly unknown.

Brachymetatarsia is related to following disorders and syndromes:

• Down’s Syndrome
• Turner’s syndrome
• Pseudohypoparathyroidism
• Psuedo-pseudohypoparathyroidism
• Albright’s syndrome
• Diastrophic dwarfism

Bracymetatarsia usually occurs in females and usually occurs in both feet. X-rays usually confirm the shortening of the metatarsal.

As a child, the deformity is usually asymptomatic. The primary complaint in the younger patient is often cosmetic, and many times these patients are self-conscious about their appearance. Older patients may experience symptoms of pain due to excessive pressure under adjacent metatarsal heads. Increased callus formation in the ball of the foot may be present. Skin, soft tissue, and tendon contractions lead to additional discomfort with the use of shoes.

Treatment of brachymetatarsia may include conservative care, such as an orthotic device to take pressure off the adjacent metatarsal heads. Shoe gear may be modified a possible hammertoe deformity or contracture of a toe.

Definitive treatment requires surgical correction to address the soft tissue contractions as well as the shortened metatarsal. Numerous surgical procedures exist to correct brachymetatarsia such as the following:

• Bone Grafts
• Metatarsal osteotomies
• Distraction of the metatarsal with an external fixator
• Tendon lengthening
• Skin modifications

At Advanced Foot & Ankle, Dr. Williams prefers the procedure in which lengthening of the metatarsal is performed with an external fixator. Below is a picture showing the external fixator on the 4th metatarsal bone allowing distraction of the bone.

Please come see Dr. Williams or Dr. Silvers if you have brachymetatarsia and we can discuss your treatment options.

The address to our facility is as follows:

McKinney Office Location

4501 Medical Center Drive: Suite 300

McKinney,  TX 75069

To schedule an apppointment, please call : 972-542-2155

Prosper Office Location

140 N. Preston Road: Suite 30

Prosper, TX 75078

To schedule an appointment, please call:  972-542-2155