What surgery is used to correct hammer toe besides pins?

Differnet implants: The surgery is the same however there are newer implants that go inside the bone to fuse the joints. They are heat activated and expand the internal cortex of the bone.

Tendon surgery: The goal of surgical correction is to restore normal alignment and function of the toe joint. If the toes are still flexible the tight tendons can be released and the toe straightened through a small poke-hole in the skin. If the toe is rigid, the knuckle is straightened and returned to a normal alignment. Wire have to be inserted to hold the toe in correct position for six weeks.

Pins are not: Always used to correct hammertoes. An arthroplasty, where the head of the proximal phalanx is cut does not require fixation with a pin. Sometimes, a flexor tenotomy is done where the flexor tendon is cut, this also does not require pin fixation.

Many options: The joint may be left separated or fusion of the ends may be attempted. For fusion, the cartilaginous ends of the bone are removed and the ends are approximated and stabilized via a wire, screw, pin, or implant. The contracted tendons may need to be cut or lengthened.

Surgery vs. padding.: If you catch hammertoes in their early stages, a small, in-office procedure to numb the toe and release one of the tendons will often allow the toe to lie straight again. If the toe deformity has become rigid, the surgery is more involved. It's an outpatient procedure in an operating room, and can involve bone cuts, pins, screws, or other implants.

Implants : I believe your asking if their are other type of implants besides the external pin. Now you can have an internal implant that won't be visible to the eye. Their is no second procedure to remove the internal implant. However complication of the internal implant can be fracture of the implant if early mobilization or nonunion of the joint.

Hammertoe: In hammertoe surgery, the pain is usually used to maintain the new position of the toe. Without such fixation, the toe tends to return to its preoperative state. There are some newer devices that are placed completely inside the toe to maintain position so that no wire has to be placed.