Morton's neuroma - stump neuroma

Patients often ask the centre about the possibility of developing a stump neuroma during surgery. Certainly, one of the risks of open surgery is a stump neuroma, a potentially distressing complication which can be very challenging to manage.

Firstly, the Centre has never encountered this condition following cryosurgery. The centre has treated patients with a stump neuroma following open surgery (by other surgeons) and in this case cryosurgery can be successful. The key treatment strategy here is to treat the nerve in front of the point where the stump has formed so that the area is desensitised with the eradication of pain.

Cryosurgery is an excellent treatment option for stump neuroma and should be undertaken before consideration is given to more invasive revision surgery which generally requires an incision under the foot with the additional risk of painful scar formation.

Mr McCulloch infrequently needs to perform open surgery but through meticulous dissection has not had personal experience of a stump neuroma. It nevertheless remains a risk which in the literature has been cited as being as high as 5-10 percent.