Volume 16 - Issue 8 - August 2003
Practice Builders »
Enhance Patient Compliance By Targeting Different Learning Styles
In over 25 years of practice, I have witnessed the importance of recognizing patient learning styles. As a physician and now as a practice consultant, I have found that communication is of strategic importance. As physicians, we must educate our patients first through effective communication. Only then will our patients understand their condition and agree to our recommended course of treatment.
“If teachers teach exclusively in a manner that favors the students’ less preferred learning style, the students’ discomfort level can interfere with their ability to learn and memorize,” not
Feature »
A Helpful Primer On Total Contact Casts
Neuropathic foot ulcers are the most common precursor of lower–extremity amputation in patients with diabetes.1 In the podiatry literature, as well as other wound care literature, the total contact cast (TCC) has long been considered the gold standard for treating non-infected, neuropathic foot ulcerations.2 The TCC heals wounds by reducing weightbearing pressure and shear force to the plantar aspect of the foot. The unique well-molded, minimally-padded construct of the cast allows it to maintain “total contact” with the foot and lower leg.
Clinical results overwh
Feature »
How To Handle Lapidus Complications
The lapidus arthrodesis for the treatment of symptomatic hallux valgus remains a controversial subject in foot surgery. Since its inception in the early 1900s, the lapidus arthrodesis has been abandoned by many surgeons mainly due to its high complication rate, particularly nonunion. However, it has regained popularity in recent years due to better fixation techniques and an improved understanding of first ray biomechanics.
The major advantage of performing a metatarsocuneiform arthrodesis is it allows you to realign the first metatarsal at the apex of the deformity along with stabilizing th
Continuing Education »
A Guide To Treatments For Onychomycosis
Onychomycosis is the number one diagnosed and treated disease by podiatrists today. While the disease was first recognized in the United States in 1928, it has only recently been brought under control with drugs that have been introduced in the last 10 years. With the advent of safer oral and topical medications, there has been a renewed focus on increasing efficacy rates. The current research seems to be centered on synergistic activity of oral and topical medications as well as different vehicles to add additional penetration of the medication.
Onychomycosis is present in 2 to 3 percent
Feature »
Reinventing The Delivery Of Quality Care
There are some consistent themes that have emerged from this year’s roundup of leading innovations in podiatry. “Minimally invasive” seems to be the phrasing of choice as the technology seems to be more and more focused on reducing patient pain and downtime via more targeted surgical solutions. In addition to products geared toward common podiatric ailments such as flatfoot, plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendonitis, there are other modalities in the mix that may not be on the cusp of mainstream acceptance, but show intriguing promise for the future.
Without further delay, here is what
Editor's Perspective »
Can The Present Help Shape The Future?
There are significant disparities between the various podiatric residency programs across the country. For example, at the University of Texas, residents get “five hours per week of lectures and topic discussions,” according to one of the professors. Yet another educator who was accustomed to hearing four or five lectures a week during his residency concedes that the current crop of residents at his facility “are lucky to get one or two a week.”
In order to help address some of these issues, Alan Sherman, DPM, Michael Shore, DPM, and Jay Lieberman, DPM, have teamed up to create PRES
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