Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the gangrene is caused by an infectious agent, it may present with a fever or sepsis.
A podiatrist is a medical professional devoted to the treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and related structures of the leg. The term originated in North America but has now become the accepted term in the English-speaking world for all practitioners of podiatric medicine. The word chiropodist was previously used in the United States, but it is now regarded as antiquated.
Podiatry, or podiatric medicine and surgery, is a branch of medicine devoted to the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle and lower limb. The healthcare professional is known as a podiatrist. The US podiatric medical school curriculum includes lower extremity anatomy, general human anatomy, physiology, general medicine, physical assessment, biochemistry, neurobiology, pathophysiology, genetics and embryology, microbiology, histology, pharmacology, women's health, physical rehabilitation, sports medicine, research, ethics and jurisprudence, biomechanics, general principles of orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery, and foot and ankle surgery.
The New York College of Podiatric Medicine (NYCPM) is a private podiatric medical college in Manhattan, New York. It is the oldest and second largest podiatric medical school in the United States.
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (RFU) is a private graduate school in North Chicago, Illinois. It has more than 2,000 students in six schools: Chicago Medical School, College of Health Professions, College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy, Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine, and School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. The university is named for famous DNA crystallographer Rosalind Franklin. Photo 51, an X-ray diffraction pattern of the B form of DNA, captured by Franklin in 1952, was pivotal in 20th-century history of biology. The image is depicted in the university's seal and logo.
TheUniversity of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, doing business as UT Health San Antonio, is a public academic health science center in San Antonio, Texas. It is part of the University of Texas System.
Neuropathic arthropathy refers to a progressive fragmentation of bones and joints in the presence of neuropathy. It can occur in any joint where denervation is present, although it most frequently presents in the foot and ankle. It follows an episodic pattern of early inflammation followed by periarticular destruction, bony coalescence, and finally bony remodeling. This can lead to considerable deformity and morbidity, including limb instability, ulceration, infection, and amputation.
Podiatric Medical School is the term used to designate the institutions which educate students and train them to be podiatrists, which diagnose and treat conditions affecting the foot, ankle, and related structures of the leg. In the United States, only schools which are accredited by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education (CPME) may earn the status of being a Podiatric Medical School. The Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree is commonly abbreviated D.P.M. degree. The D.P.M. degree is a prerequisite for an individual to be accepted into a CPME accredited residency. The preparatory education of most podiatric physicians — similar to the paths of traditional physicians — includes four years of undergraduate work, followed by four years in an accredited podiatric medical school, followed by a three- or four-year hospital-based podiatry residency. Optional one- to two-year fellowship in foot and ankle reconstruction, surgical limb salvage, sports medicine, plastic surgery, pediatric foot and ankle surgery, and wound care is also available.
Western University of Health Sciences (WesternU) is a private medical university in Pomona, California. With an enrollment of 3,724 students (2022–23), WesternU offers more than twenty academic programs in multiple colleges. It also operates an additional campus in Lebanon, Oregon.
Foot and ankle surgery is a sub-specialty of orthopedics and podiatry that deals with the treatment, diagnosis and prevention of disorders of the foot and ankle. Orthopaedic surgeons are medically qualified, having been through four years of college, followed by 4 years of medical school or osteopathic medical school to obtain an M.D. or D.O. followed by specialist training as a resident in orthopaedics, and only then do they sub-specialise in foot and ankle surgery. Training for a podiatric foot and ankle surgeon consists of four years of college, four years of podiatric medical school (D.P.M.), 3–4 years of a surgical residency and an optional 1 year fellowship.
The Brooklyn Hospital Center is a 464-licensed-bed, full-service community teaching hospital located in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City. The hospital was founded in 1845. It is affiliated with the Mount Sinai Health System, and serves a diverse population from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds.
David G. Armstrong is an American podiatric surgeon and researcher most widely known for his work in amputation prevention, the diabetic foot, and wound healing. He and his frequent collaborators, Lawrence A. Lavery and Andrew J.M. Boulton, have together produced many key works in the taxonomy, classification and treatment of the diabetic foot. He is Professor of Surgery with Tenure and director of the Southwestern Academic Limb Salvage Alliance (SALSA) at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and has produced more than 700 peer reviewed manuscripts and more than 115 book chapters.
Arterial insufficiency ulcers are mostly located on the lateral surface of the ankle or the distal digits. They are commonly caused by peripheral artery disease (PAD).
John Peter Smith Hospital is a Level 1 Trauma Center, 573-bed county hospital located in Fort Worth, Texas that provides inpatient, outpatient and behavioral healthcare.
Lee Christopher Rogers is an American podiatrist from San Antonio, Texas. He is most known for his work preventing amputations in diabetes and treating Charcot foot and he has helped define the qualifications of doctors of podiatric medicine and the privileging process for hospitals and surgery. He is the vice president of the International Federation of Podiatrists and he served as the president of the American Board of Podiatric Medicine (2021-2023). He was the Democratic nominee for US Congress in California's 25th district in 2012, and lost in California's top-two primary in June 2014. Rogers is also known as a film producer.
Richard Philip Usatine is a physician, photographer, writer, speaker, and professor of family and community medicine, dermatology and cutaneous surgery. He is Assistant Director of Medical Humanities Education at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
Diabetic foot ulcer is a breakdown of the skin and sometimes deeper tissues of the foot that leads to sore formation. It may occur due to a variety of mechanisms. It is thought to occur due to abnormal pressure or mechanical stress chronically applied to the foot, usually with concomitant predisposing conditions such as peripheral sensory neuropathy, peripheral motor neuropathy, autonomic neuropathy or peripheral arterial disease. It is a major complication of diabetes mellitus, and it is a type of diabetic foot disease. Secondary complications to the ulcer, such as infection of the skin or subcutaneous tissue, bone infection, gangrene or sepsis are possible, often leading to amputation.
Total contact casting (TCC) is a specially designed cast designed to take weight off of the foot (off-loading) in patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). Reducing pressure on the wound by taking weight off the foot has proven to be very effective in DFU treatment. DFUs are a major factor leading to lower leg amputations among the diabetic population in the US with 85% of amputations in diabetics being preceded by a DFU. Furthermore, the five-year post-amputation mortality rate among diabetics is estimated at 45% for those with neuropathic DFUs.
Nachiappan Chockalingam, professionally known as Nachi Chockalingam is a British scientist, academic practitioner and expert in Clinical Biomechanics. He is a professor at Staffordshire University and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine and has been appointed to a panel of experts for the Research Excellence Framework. He was elected as a Fellow of the International Society of Biomechanics in 2023. Between 2016 and 2022, he has contributed to the NIHR Research for Patient Benefit Panel and serves in multiple other review panels of global grant awarding bodies including the EPSRC, MRC and the European Commission. He contributed to development of podiatric biomechanics in the UK and played a pivotal role in the establishment of the journals such as the Footwear Science and is on the editorial panel for a number of scientific and clinical journals.
Vijay Viswanathan is a diabetologist from India who is the chief diabetologist at M.V. Hospital for Diabetes based in Chennai. He is also the President of Prof. M. Viswanathan Diabetes Research Centre and the first Asian President of D-Foot International, a non-profit organization based in Belgium. Viswanathan has published over 543 research papers, in publications including the National Library of Medicine, on topics such as primary prevention and management of diabetes, diabetic foot and prevention of amputation, diabetic nephropathy, socio-economics of diabetes care and Pulmonary TB and diabetes.
