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Frequently Asked Questions

Cosmetic

I heard your doctors often do a plastic surgery closure when patients need surgery. What is this?

Depending on the patient and their particular foot or ankle problem, the doctors will often use plastic surgery techniques to close the skin. This is something that, as far as we know, sets our practice apart from most others. All the sutures are buried under the skin and they all dissolve. Typically, this results in a much less visible scar and patients love not having to have sutures removed.

Technology

What is the revolutionary PRP (platelet-rich plasma) procedure?

When two of the Pittsburgh Steelers' biggest stars, Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu, had muscle-skeletal pain, it was the breakthrough PRP procedure that allowed them to resume playing and go on to win the Super Bowl. Since then, many professional athletes have undergone PRP. Our doctors are among a handful of podiatrists now using PRP to treat heel, foot, ankle and achilles tendon pain and problems.

The PRP treatment is very easy. A sample of the patients own blood is specially treated and then placed around the painful area of their heel, foot, ankle or achilles tendon. PRP alleviates pain by using the patient's own cells to heal the sore or injured tendon, ligament and other soft tissues. The procedure takes about 20 minutes and most patients resume almost all their activities within a few days.

What is the Endoscopic Release Procedure for Heel Pain?

A new breakthrough to alleviate heel pain caused by inflammation of a large ligament in our heel (the plantar fascia) is the endoscopic release procedure. This simple, out-patient procedure takes just a few minutes and uses a special fiber-optic camera, called an endoscope, to enter the painful heel through a tiny incision.  The endoscopic camera allows the doctor to examine the ligament and with a special instrument, he can release part of the ligament to lessen the pain. 

What Is Ankle Arthroscopic Surgery?

What is diagnostic ultrasound?

Diagnostic ultrasound is a quick and painless way to evaluate the soft-tissues (tendons, ligaments, nerves, muscles, etc.) of the foot and ankle. It is similar to sonar used on submarines by the military and fetal ultrasound used by OB-GYN doctors to evaluate the developing baby. In experienced hands, the images and information obtained from the ultrasound can provide as much information as much more expensive and time-consuming tests such as MRI and CT-Scans. We were among the first podiatrists in Northwest Indiana to offer this technology, and often use it to when treating tendonitis, heel pain, pinched nerves and neuromas, puncture wounds caused by stepping on glass or wood, and deep infections in the foot or ankle.

What is the Flouroscan?

The flouroscan is a special x-ray device that lets the doctors see the bones in your feet and ankles "live" as you move them. The flouroscan is superb for examining painful joints for arthritis, spurs or loose bone fragments.

What is laser surgery?

Laser beams can be used surgically to treat many foot and ankle problems that previously had to be dealt with by cutting the skin. A laser uses a precise and intense beam of light that can vaporize tissue almost instantly. There is usually little or no bleeding and the laser also sterilizes the skin surface. There usually is less pain and a shorter recovery time than with conventional surgery. We use two kinds of lasers: the pulse-dye laser and the CO2 laser.

How do the doctors keep up to date on all the current techniques?

You will be hard-pressed to find a procedure, material or technique with which our doctors are unfamiliar. Aside from the many clinical journals they read and the courses they attend, they get updates and news from all over the world via the Internet. This is an invaluable resource for keeping our office on the leading edge of technology and foot and ankle research.

In addition, both our doctors have always obtained greater than the minimum number of continuing education hours than the State demands.

I've always been nervous about getting x-rays. What do you do to make them safe?

Realistically, the x-ray doses required for podiatry are relatively harmless (for anyone who is not pregnant). However, we recognize your concern and we use a special x-ray machine specifically designed to x-ray the foot and ankle, and we strictly adhere to state rules and regulations.

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