Doctor: What is a podiatrist?

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What exactly is a podiatrist? The short answer is a foot and ankle specialist.

A podiatrist is a physician who has an undergraduate degree, a medical degree in podiatry and residency training. On average it takes about 11 years to become a podiatrist.

A podiatrist covers all aspects of the foot and ankle. The following breaks down generally what we do.

Orthopedics: As a podiatrist, we are trained surgeons and work on bones and tendons and ligaments below the knee. Often, we see fractures and injuries, and these sometimes need surgery to be corrected. At Maricopa Foot and Ankle, we are Board Certified surgeons.

Dermatology: The foot and ankle have many skin problems a podiatrist can correct, including skin cancer, warts, fungus, lacerations, wounds and swelling. Diabetics often have skin problems that can turn to amputations.

Radiology: We have several modalities, such as X-rays and ultrasound visualization, to diagnose pathology at Maricopa Foot and Ankle. We also order CT scans, MRIs and Nuclear Medicine to help assess problems on the foot and ankle. We have an X-ray and ultrasound unit in the office. As podiatrists, we are skilled in reading these the day you are treated, resulting in faster diagnosis and treatment.

Oncology: Cancer in the foot and ankle occurs as well. We can biopsy, diagnose and treat cancer. We work with oncologists to further treat any cancer ailments that appear on the foot and ankle.

Sports medicine: Injuries occur to the foot and ankle with any sport. We have the tools in our office to diagnose and treat sports injuries, from soccer to football, baseball to dance.

Wound care: People often get wounds on their legs and feet, especially diabetics. This is a very serious problem and needs to be treated by someone with lots of experience. At Maricopa Foot and Ankle, we have been treating wounds for over 20 years. This is often a multidisciplinary approach where we work as a team to treat life-threatening infections. Primary-care physicians, endocrinologists, vascular surgeons and cardiologists are all part of a team to help the patient.

At Maricopa Foot and Ankle, we are Board Certified, experienced and trained to provide you excellent care.

This sponsored content was previously published in the June issue of InMaricopa Magazine.