Podiatry Today Current Issue

Secrets To Preventing And Treating Baseball Injuries

admin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:01:39 -0400

With spring finally here, amateurs and professionals alike have returned to the baseball diamond. More than 40 million Americans participate in baseball and softball each year. According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS), there are over 500,000 injuries per year related to baseball.
American children begin playing organized baseball at 5 or 6 and some people continue to play the sport past the age of 60 whether games are competitive or during a family picnic. As a result of this, different injury patterns present themselves. Most of us who have played can

Can Evidence-Based Medicine Be A Reality In Practice?

admin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:01:39 -0400

It is said that the best science is repeatable science. If you pour x into y in certain measures and under specific conditions, z will occur every time. In podiatry, such certainty is not always that certain. The treatment regimen one utilizes for the lower extremity wound of one patient with diabetes may work in healing the diabetic ulcerations of three other patients but not a fourth. Her wound might require a different therapy or a combination of therapies. Her z requires a different x and y.
However, the regimen you prescribed for your first patient should work. It has bee

How To Master Billing For Orthotics

admin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:01:39 -0400

Orthotics are an integral part of podiatric practice. They provide viable treatment options for many conditions that we treat. However, there are also associated hard costs with orthotics that can be a financial detriment to the practice if the office cannot collect fees in a timely fashion.
Obviously, your staff should be very aware of coverage criteria for the principal insurance companies that your office commonly deals with when it comes to payment for any service rendered in the office. This will save a lot of time in determining whether orthotics may be a covered benefit f

Tarsal Coalition And Pes Planus: What Is The Best Treatment Option?

admin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:01:39 -0400

Please click here for the full Continuing Medical Education article:

http://www.naccme.com/program/n-212/

Given the challenges inherent in diagnosing and treating tarsal coalitions, this author reviews key clinical findings, offers keys to diagnostic imaging, explores the merits of conservative therapy and discusses indications for resection and arthrodesis.

Key Insights On Assessing The Risk Factors For PAD

admin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:01:39 -0400

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a significant risk factor for diabetic foot amputation. It is also an important marker for atherosclerosis in other organ systems and is associated with a fourfold increase in cardiovascular death.¹
Current estimates suggest a 3 to 10 percent incidence of PAD in the general population but reportedly only 25 to 33 percent of these people are symptomatic. Of the patients with asymptomatic PAD, 70 to 80 percent will remain stable at five years whereas 10 to 20 percent will experience significant deterioration of their health due to t

Essential Insights On First MPJ Implant Revision

admin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:01:39 -0400

Implants have been documented in the literature and surgeons have utilized implants over the past 50 years for the treatment of a variety of conditions including hallux rigidus, hallux valgus, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.^1,2 Total joints were originally designed to function as joint spacers to decrease pain while maintaining motion and joint alignment.^1,3 Currently, a variety of products attempt to provide these characteristics. These products include silastic, polyethylene-on-metal and metal hemiarthroplasty implants. Surgeons have implanted over 2

What I Will Miss (And What I Will Not Miss) About Podiatry

admin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:01:39 -0400

I am in the last nine months of my 33-year career as a podiatrist. Every day of patient care is a cause for reflection. I know what I will miss and what I will not miss.
I will not miss my most creative patients, those who are pursuing settlement of personal injury claims. Some have been legitimate but many have been pure fiction.
My most memorable creative patient was a young man who lost his second toe in an industrial accident. He got his foot caught in a chain and sprocket, and lost the toe. I cleaned up the mess and he healed without problems. I received a request for his r

How To Prevent Postoperative Infection

admin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:01:39 -0400

Postoperative infection following elective, clean foot and ankle surgery is relatively uncommon. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports the surgical site infection (SSI) rate to be 2.1 percent for clean, uncontaminated surgery.¹ However, when postoperative infection does occur, it may affect functional outcomes and the patient’s quality of life.
The incidence of infection varies from one surgical procedure to another and from patient to patient.² Infection rates increase in complicated reconstructive surgery, types of diabetic f

Study Sparks Debate About Treatment Options For Ingrown Toenails

admin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:01:39 -0400

Patients commonly present with ingrown toenails and treatments range from chemical matrixectomy to the newer orthonyxia procedure. A new study in the Journal of the American College of Surgery concludes that orthonyxia, using a metal brace for the toe, is superior to partial matrix excision in terms of recovery and patient satisfaction.
Researchers randomized 105 consecutive patients with 109 toenails, excluding patients with diabetes and/or paronychias. Fifty-eight patients underwent partial matrix excision, which included 5 to 10 mL of lidocaine 1%, according to th

What You Should Know About Screening For PAD

admin — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:01:39 -0400

We are an aging population. One can ascertain that with aging comes an increased incidence of comorbid conditions. With the vast majority of podiatric surgical cases being elective, documentation supporting the vascular system prior to surgery will protect the surgeon from postoperative complications associated with circulatory issues, or may help surgeons recognize an asymptomatic issue for appropriate intervention prior to surgery. Recognition of asymptomatic circulatory issues is of particular importance in the younger diabetic population prior to surgery.
Systemic atheroscle