Crescentic osteotomy for fifth metatarsal head lesions

The use of orthotics may make surgery for fifth metatarsal lesions unnecessary. If surgery is required, several procedures currently used are effective; however, the authors believe crescentic osteotomy to be the procedure of choice for several reasons--it is less traumatic, less destructive to the joint, does not require internal fixation, is less demanding technically, and requires a shorter postoperative period of convalescence. Although the most common deformity of the fifth ray is in the sagittal plane, it is possible to correct various positional deformities by altering the plane of osteotomy.