A foot job can kill you!

High heel addicts in Mumbai are increasingly putting their foot under the knife in a dangerous procedure. If the Cinderella story were written now, there surely would have been a twist - or a nip and tuck - in the tale! For, the mantra these days is if the shoe doesn't fit, fix the foot. Doctors say that more and more high heel lovers are opting for surgical procedures that can change the alignment of their feet - just to indulge their fashion fetish. The results can be lethal, as cramming your tootsies into smaller shoes can severely distort your feet. Demand on the rise The resulting health hazards don't seem to dissuade heel-loving women. Apart from plastic surgery, they're also demanding filler injections into their toe pads, balls of feet and heels. Affirms Dr Amit Jain, orthopaedic and spine surgeon, "I have a growing list of patients looking for cosmetic procedures to fit into fashionable shoes, sometimes even those in their teens. I refuse outright as this can lead to immense pain, infections, nerve damage and even foot death. This is a very scary trend." Dr Kaushal Malhan, knee and hip replacement surgeon, also stresses on the dangers. "A surgery like this can completely mess up the foot. It can pull the toes into an abnormal direction and cause hallux valgus (when the big toe starts to deviate inward in the direction of the baby toe). Eventually, this will affect the knee and hip joints adversely," he says. What's society saying... Malaika Arora Khan, who never steps out without her towering heels, finds the cosmetic foot surgery appalling. "I think it's downright stupid. If you can't fit into them, don't wear high heels," she says. TV anchor and selfconfessed high heel lover Mandira Bedi also says a flat no to the toe job. "It's a ridiculous thing and highly unnecessary," she says. "I find it a bit off to do something like this just for fashion. I have an addiction for high heels and I know that my feet are not without flaws, but I would never do this," she states. Did you know? Sky-high stilettos have actually been dubbed as limo or taxi shoes, owing to the need to minimise the amount of time actually spent walking on them. These are shoes that are too tall, delicate and expensive to walk in, making it necessary for the wearer to be driven around. They can't do without 'em Jersey Shore actress Snooki recently came under fire for wearing five-inch heels while being five months pregnant. A website reported how Victoria Beckham once refused to go to the gym as she couldn't wear her heels there and found the idea of donning sneakers unflattering. She also suffered a slipped disc thanks to wearing stilettos during her pregnancy. Beyonce told a magazine that she was "committed" to wearing high heels. She even gave birth to baby Blue Ivy Carter in kitten heels.