Foot for thought
Manhattan publicist swears by controversial toe treatment
LEGENDARY publicist Peggy Siegal has selfpublished one of New York’s buzziest books of the fall: a list of her favorite doctors, stylists and beauticians in the city, titled “How To Look Like Me at 70,” which she handed out to select fab friends bound in pink ribbon. Online commenters who got hold of the book are particularly curious about the “toe reductions” Siegal raves about.
“Dr. [Jonathan] Levy’s partner, Dr. [Richard] Frankel, who was my podiatrist of 30 years, gave the best toe reductions, but just retired,” Siegal writes in the guide. “Dr. Levy guarantees relief from corns and bunions. If you clock as many miles as I do running up and down the red carpet, corns are a major concern.”
Levy, of NYC’s Park 56 Podiatry, tells The Post that the procedure Siegal refers to isn’t quite a “reduction” but rather a straightening out of toe bones if a patient has a hammertoe and removal of corns and other deformities. Hammertoes can cause pain — especially if the bent bones are jammed into too-small shoes — but surgery is often elective, performed so a patient has better-looking feet and prettier shoe options.
But experts caution that the procedure is riskier than some other treatments on Siegal’s list, which includes surgeries such as neck-lifts.
“You have to be very careful when you remove any bone or change the structure in any way, because it can affect your balance, the way you walk and your way of life,” says Dr. Rock Positano, director of the nonsurgical foot service at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
He advises reaching for roomier footwear. “There are some gorgeous-looking shoes that accommodate the toes in a really great way,” he says. He suggests Roger Vivier’s box-toe heels and certain Prada styles. “These may be a little more expensive, but they’re healthier for a person’s foot than a shoe that’s not well-made,” he says.
Positano warns that opting for surgery can lead to weight gain and restlessness thanks to the weeks or months of recovery time spent in a wheelchair and, if complications arise, a total lifestyle shift.
“We see 10 to 20 patients per year who have developed clinical depression because they can’t stand or walk around,” Positano says. “People will say it’s no different than a nose job or a face-lift, but we say, ‘ You don’t walk on your face!’ ”