| Toe amputations may be necessary for several | | | | the difficulty of finding shoes that fit later on in life. |
| reasons. Infection is perhaps the most common | | | | Other foot deformities such as underlapping toes and |
| cause for infection and is often associated with foot | | | | overlapping toes are sometimes corrected with |
| problems relating to diabetes. In addition to infection, | | | | amputation. Amputation is usually a last resort for |
| toes may need to be amputated due to trauma, loss | | | | these conditions and is only used when the |
| of blood supply (a condition formally referred to as | | | | procedure necessary to correct the problem would |
| ischemia) or nerve injury. Sometimes toes are | | | | cause more trauma to the body than the amputation. |
| amputated due to a foot deformity. Infants can be | | | | The most commonly amputated toe in these |
| born with extra toes, in which case it is often easier | | | | situations is the little toe. |
| to remove the toe in infancy rather than deal with | | | | |