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New York foot surgeons say that more patients are asking for a questionable cosmetic procedure to make their feet look better in sandals

Self-conscious about your toes? You aren’t alone. A growing number of patients are turning to podiatrists to reshape their lowermost appendages to make their toes thinner and more attractive. The procedure treats an affliction that has been dubbed “toe-besity,” and a few New York surgeons say that they’ve seen more and more people complaining about fat toes. With Americans now spending $10.4 billion annually on cosmetic surgery, is the latest craze just another egregious reason to go under the knife? Here, a brief guide:

Why are people getting this done? “Americans’ neuroses have now become so specific as to cause severe embarrassment over the width of our toes,” says Rebecca Adams at the Huffington Post. Many people choose toe-besity surgery for purely aesthetic reasons (like looking good in slip-ons), but many others use it to treat real medical problems like hammertoe or other discomforts. Says Dr. Hillary Brenner, a member of the American Podiatric Medical Association, “I don’t think it’s ethical unless you’re having pain.”

Full story at The Week.

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