Sunday, October 24, 2004
From: Law.com
In an age when plastic surgeons appear on television offering to improve patients' eyes, noses, chins, lips and breasts, perhaps it's not surprising that a Georgia podiatrist offered to make a 5-foot-5-inch man taller for $40,000. But by performing a leg-lengthening procedure purely for cosmetic reasons, the podiatrist broke the law and was negligent, a panel of the Georgia Court of Appeals declared recently. Elective use of the procedure -- in which the patient's legs are surgically broken and the bone segments are kept separated until they grow together to increase their length -- violates the Georgia Podiatry Act, according to the decision. ...
Web Directories
In an age when plastic surgeons appear on television offering to improve patients' eyes, noses, chins, lips and breasts, perhaps it's not surprising that a Georgia podiatrist offered to make a 5-foot-5-inch man taller for $40,000. But by performing a leg-lengthening procedure purely for cosmetic reasons, the podiatrist broke the law and was negligent, a panel of the Georgia Court of Appeals declared recently. Elective use of the procedure -- in which the patient's legs are surgically broken and the bone segments are kept separated until they grow together to increase their length -- violates the Georgia Podiatry Act, according to the decision. ...
Web Directories
Saturday, October 16, 2004
The next ePodiatry Newsletter is available.
Podiatry Today have a new full text article on Managing Hyperhidrosis
Some threads at Podiatry Arena:
Vertical loading gait analysis systems
Sinus Tarsi Syndrome
Ballet School Students
Retro-calcaneal bursae
Use of 10g monofilament in diabetic foot assessment
Debate re minimal invasive surgery
Is Severs Disease a stress fracture?
Bushisms
Social nailcare by volunteers
Foot and hand carers
Scalpel debridement in rheumatoid arthritis
Podiatry Today have a new full text article on Managing Hyperhidrosis
Some threads at Podiatry Arena:
Vertical loading gait analysis systems
Sinus Tarsi Syndrome
Ballet School Students
Retro-calcaneal bursae
Use of 10g monofilament in diabetic foot assessment
Debate re minimal invasive surgery
Is Severs Disease a stress fracture?
Bushisms
Social nailcare by volunteers
Foot and hand carers
Scalpel debridement in rheumatoid arthritis
Thursday, October 14, 2004
This research raises some questions about the use of scalpel debridement of callus in rheumatoid arthritis:
Debridement of plantar callosities in rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized controlled trial.
Rheumatology (Oxford). 2004 Oct 12
Davys HJ, Turner DE, Helliwell PS, Conaghan PG, Emery P, Woodburn J.Foot Health Department, The Leeds General Infirmary, The University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Objective. To compare forefoot pain, pressure and function before and after normal and sham callus treatment in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Patients and methods. Thirty-eight RA patients were randomly assigned to normal (NCT group) or sham (SCT) scalpel debridement. The sham procedure comprised blunt-edged scalpel paring of the callus which delivered a physical stimulus but left the hyperkeratotic tissue intact, the procedure being partially obscured from the patient. Forefoot pain was assessed using a 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS), pressure using a high-resolution foot pressure scanner and function using the spatial-temporal gait parameters measured on an instrumented walkway. Radiographic scores of joint erosion were obtained for metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joints with and without overlying callosities. The trial consisted of a randomized sham-controlled phase evaluating the immediate same-day treatment effect and an unblinded 4-week follow-up phase.
Results. During the sham-controlled phase, forefoot pain improved in both groups by only 3 points on a VAS and no statistically significant between-group difference was found (P = 0.48). When data were pooled during the unblinded phase, the improvement in forefoot pain reached a peak after 2 days and gradually lessened over the next 28 days. Following debridement, peak pressures at the callus sites decreased in the NCT group and increased in the SCT group, but there was no statistically significant between-group difference (P = 0.16). The area of and duration of contact of the callus site on the ground remained unchanged following treatment in both groups. Following debridement, walking speed was increased, the stride-length was longer and the double-support time shorter in both groups; however, between-group differences did not reach levels of statistical significance. MTP joints with overlying callus were significantly more eroded than those without (P = 0.02).
Conclusions. Treatment of painful plantar callosities in RA using scalpel debridement lessened forefoot pain but the effect was no greater than sham treatment. Localized pressure or gait function was not significantly improved following treatment.
Debridement of plantar callosities in rheumatoid arthritis: a randomized controlled trial.
Rheumatology (Oxford). 2004 Oct 12
Davys HJ, Turner DE, Helliwell PS, Conaghan PG, Emery P, Woodburn J.Foot Health Department, The Leeds General Infirmary, The University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Objective. To compare forefoot pain, pressure and function before and after normal and sham callus treatment in rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Patients and methods. Thirty-eight RA patients were randomly assigned to normal (NCT group) or sham (SCT) scalpel debridement. The sham procedure comprised blunt-edged scalpel paring of the callus which delivered a physical stimulus but left the hyperkeratotic tissue intact, the procedure being partially obscured from the patient. Forefoot pain was assessed using a 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS), pressure using a high-resolution foot pressure scanner and function using the spatial-temporal gait parameters measured on an instrumented walkway. Radiographic scores of joint erosion were obtained for metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joints with and without overlying callosities. The trial consisted of a randomized sham-controlled phase evaluating the immediate same-day treatment effect and an unblinded 4-week follow-up phase.
Results. During the sham-controlled phase, forefoot pain improved in both groups by only 3 points on a VAS and no statistically significant between-group difference was found (P = 0.48). When data were pooled during the unblinded phase, the improvement in forefoot pain reached a peak after 2 days and gradually lessened over the next 28 days. Following debridement, peak pressures at the callus sites decreased in the NCT group and increased in the SCT group, but there was no statistically significant between-group difference (P = 0.16). The area of and duration of contact of the callus site on the ground remained unchanged following treatment in both groups. Following debridement, walking speed was increased, the stride-length was longer and the double-support time shorter in both groups; however, between-group differences did not reach levels of statistical significance. MTP joints with overlying callus were significantly more eroded than those without (P = 0.02).
Conclusions. Treatment of painful plantar callosities in RA using scalpel debridement lessened forefoot pain but the effect was no greater than sham treatment. Localized pressure or gait function was not significantly improved following treatment.
Sunday, October 10, 2004
The next ePodiatry newsletter is online. They are giving a lot of support to the new Podiatry Arena forum for discussion between foot health professionals. An interesting thread has started on Debate re minimal invasive surgery, started by a poster at the Foot Health Forum who regreted asking a question about it.
A helpful source of other blogs on a whole range of topics is at Search4Blogs.
The latest issue of BioMechanics has 2 interesting full text articles:
Plantar fasciitis pain responds to custom orthoses
Plyometric concepts reinvent lower extremity rehabilitation
A helpful source of other blogs on a whole range of topics is at Search4Blogs.
The latest issue of BioMechanics has 2 interesting full text articles:
Plantar fasciitis pain responds to custom orthoses
Plyometric concepts reinvent lower extremity rehabilitation
Saturday, October 02, 2004
The next ePodiatry newsletter is now online.
Two interesting full text articles from Podiatry Today:
Should The Lapidus Replace The Closing Base Wedge Osteotomy?
Treating Venous Stasis Ulcers In The Lower Extremity
A new forum for discussion has been launched: Podiatry Arena. I am the moderator for the Diabetic Foot Forum there, so please stop by register and participate.
Podiatry Management has a new article on a Review of the Systems.
Two interesting full text articles from Podiatry Today:
Should The Lapidus Replace The Closing Base Wedge Osteotomy?
Treating Venous Stasis Ulcers In The Lower Extremity
A new forum for discussion has been launched: Podiatry Arena. I am the moderator for the Diabetic Foot Forum there, so please stop by register and participate.
Podiatry Management has a new article on a Review of the Systems.
