One might say that a high-heeled, pointy-toed shoe and a high-arched, naturally pointy foot are soul mates, a match made in heaven. But for women who long to slip into a spiky pair of Manolo Blahniks or Jimmy Choos but whose feet aren’t so accommodating, such a match can be made in the podiatrist’s office.

This is where Dr. Marlene Reid, a podiatric surgeon, and her philosophy of feet and high heels come in. She knows that years after the hit television show “Sex and the City” raised high-end footwear to near-religious status, the truly fanatical have taken highly controversial steps to wear heels — including enduring procedures to lop a little or a lot off the top of a toe.

Reid said she would never, say, amputate a toe to make it easier for someone to sport a pair of stilettos. It’s a rare surgery that has been denounced by the American Podiatric Medical Association.

But Reid, a member of the APMA and an expert in heel and tendon pain, said women should be able to wear the latest high-heeled fashions if they want. To that end, she said she has shortened toes.

…A large portion of Reid’s Naperville practice (which she shares with her husband, who’s also a podiatric surgeon) involves patients with heel problems. But over the years, she has seen her share of women who yearn to wear high heels as extravagant as the ones in the paintings that adorn her office walls.

She said many of her female patients are self-conscious about their feet. “For some women, going to the podiatrist’s office is as big a deal as going to the gynecologist’s office,” she said. “We place such a premium on beautiful feet and beautiful shoes.”

And the pressure to bare those toes is ever increasing. It’s more common these days to see women with open-toed shoes in the office. Even young girls are getting pedicures far earlier than ever.

Reid said it’s important for patients to know the risks attendant to any surgical procedure. They also have to understand the possible outcomes, and that some procedures may require lengthy recovery times.

“But as a woman, I don’t feel I should tell my patients they can’t wear stylish shoes,” she said. “I’ll educate them and give them advice on wearing custom orthotics or a pointy shoe with an elongated toe box. Or I’ll tell them to take a few minutes out of the day to stretch their calves or tendons. But my job is — within reason — to try to make it possible.”

Is that the most screwed up, patriarchy-upholding thing you’ve read in a while, or what? “Hey, women need these toe surgeries because they need to fit into foot-deforming high heels to conform to ridiculous beauty standards at the cost of their health and self worth. Let’s give them a hand in this noble endeavour!” /sarcasm