A callus is an area of thickened skin located on the bottom of the foot, in most cases on the ball of the foot and/or heel. The most common cause of calluses on the ball of the foot is a “declination” of one or more of the long bones of the foot called metatarsal bones of which there are normally five in each foot . Since one or more of these metatarsal bones is/are lower than the others, the bone(s) bear more weight. A callus forms under the end of the metatarsal bone in order to protect the bone form trauma. In the case of some severe calluses, a small core or “nucleus” can be found within the callus and if present, the patient usually feels as though he/she is walking on a small pebble. The procedure most often performed at Laser Foot Surgery Specialist is as follows. A small incision (approximately 1/8 inch) is on the top of the foot at the neck of the affected metatarsal bone. Using our special drill, a small cut is made across the metatarsal bone and the metatarsal head is repositioned toward the top of the foot enough to redistribute the weight. If the callus has a “nucleus,” this is removed from the bottom of the foot with a laser and is sent to our pathology lab for analysis. In most cases, this “nucleus” is a “Porokeratoma” or a benign “plugged sweat gland.”