Kelly Ripa's Broken Foot

Yesterday Kelly Ripa came out to host her morning show with a walking boot on her left foot.  It turns out that the day before she "stepped wrong" on a weight left on the floor during her dance class.  She later found out that she broke multiple bones in her foot after hearing a "bubble wrap" sound.  She is told that she does not need surgery but will require 6 weeks of immobilization in the boot.  I am not sure whether or not she was joking but she says for her it will be "more like 3."

As a podiatrist who treats foot fractures, I find this interesting.  Fractures anywhere in the body take at least 6 weeks to heal.  So she is not going to cut down her time to 3 weeks unless she wants to have a non-healing fracture or even further damage that may require surgery.

I also found interesting her choice of a shoe for the other foot.  (Apparently she was advised to wear an appropriate shoe on the other foot and refused according to her discussion on her show). One does want to balance a walking boot with a shoe of equal height on the other foot, but she is not weight bearing yet.  She is wearing a fairly high heel on her right foot and I certainly worry about a foot or ankle injury on the right limb as well.

The National

Since Orlando is only a couple hours away, I was excited to see that the National Scientific Seminar of the American Podiatric Medical Association was to be held in Orlando this year.  I decided that I would attend my first national conference and just returned home to Spring Hill.  Podiatrists from all over the country came to Orlando this past weekend.  I must say I was very impressed with the conference.  I have, of course, attended many conferences more regional in the past, but this one was so much bigger.

In addition to well respected speakers, the exhibit hall was great.  I have again found products and services to make the practice and care I provide to my patients even better.  I am eager to get to the office Monday morning and get to work!

A Personal Milestone

I am the type of person who does my best to avoid bragging.  I really do not have an ego and consider myself a fairly humble guy.  However, I am also a person who has been blessed with many experiences throughout my life and enjoy reflecting on my life.  July 2015, specifically July 10, 2015, marks the completion of 10 years in private practice.

I hope readers of this blog will bear with me as I have a little fun and look back on these 10 years:

Indianapolis:
July 11, 2005 - August 2008

As a doctor fresh out of residency, this was a time to grow in my career.  Medical school and residency does not do a lot to prepare someone for private practice and I learned a great deal during my 3 years here.  Indianapolis is a wonderful city and my wife and I will certainly treasure our time here.

Pittsburgh:
September 2008 - October 2011

I specifically lived and worked a little south of the city in the West Mifflin area.  (About 6 miles south of downtown).  Growing up in NE Ohio (and a Cleveland sports fan), I was not raised to love Pittsburgh, but it is a unique and beautiful city.  With me being from Akron, and my wife being from Dubois, PA, this put us exactly in between and 100 miles away from each of our hometowns.  In Pittsburgh, I learned a lot about caring for patients in the hospital setting and wound care.  These are certainly valuable skills.  The surgeries I performed here completed my requirements for board certification which I achieved during the end of my time here.

Winter Haven (Polk County), Florida:
November 2011 - April 2013

You can see from the Pittsburgh picture that snow was always part of my winters.  I was thrilled to move to "Winter Haven" and haven't seen snow since.  I would say that my experience here was concentrated on "practice management."  Having learned the medicine part pretty well, this allowed me to focus on learning how to run a practice.  More than just billing and coding, but also providing valuable services that give patients great outcomes.

Spring Hill, Florida (Absolute Healthcare, LLC):

April 2013 - April 2015

Coming to Spring Hill and working with a multi-specialty group was invaluable.  I have a great deal of respect for Dr. Gaurav Malhotra.  Working with an MD helped me figure out where I fit in with the medical team to care for patients.  Having only worked with podiatrists in the past I missed different viewpoints.  Medicine is changing, the primary physician is going to direct care in the future to cut down costs and focus on prevention.  Though no one really knows exactly where we are headed with all of this, my time here allowed me to better determine my role in patient care within the medical team.

Spring Hill, Florida (Donald J. Adamov, DPM, PA):

May 2015 - Present

Never would have I imagined, as a young doctor going into work for the 1st time on July 11, 2005 in Indianapolis, that 10 years later I would be practicing in my own practice 1000 miles south in Florida.  I moved around a lot in those 10 years, but the experience I gained has been so important in the forming of the philosophy of the care I provide my patients.  I appreciate the trust that my patients have placed in me.  I never take the responsibility of caring for my patients lightly.



Kyrie Irving's Sprained Foot

I am not typically a basketball fan.  In fact, it is probably on the bottom of my list of major professional sports.  However, after my first week at my new office, I am taking some time just to relax.  After all, this is the 1st weekend in a while on which I did not have to go work at the office preparing it to see patients.

As many of you know, I spent the 1st 29 years of my life in Northeastern Ohio.  I was born in Akron and my undergraduate degree is from The University of Akron.  I went to podiatry school in Cleveland and did my residency in the greater Cleveland area.

So, even though I am not a huge basketball fan, I pay attention when a team in Cleveland is doing well.  I do not think it is fair to call me fair-weather as I have been to plenty of Browns, Indians, Cavs, and minor league hockey games in downtown Cleveland and even in Richfield at the old Coliseum when these teams were not doing well.  I also really appreciate LeBron James returning to our hometown to try to bring the people of Northeastern Ohio a championship.

Therefore, I admit I have been following the Cavs.  Unfortunately, with Kevin Love's season being over, I am concerned with Kyrie Irving.  Reports say he has a foot sprain and he is playing with a limp.  As a podiatrist, I wonder if there is more than a sprain.  I start to think about a stress fracture.  After all, a painful foot and limping is not normal.  Often, when someone keeps walking on a sore foot or ankle, it can make the condition worse and harder to treat.

I just hope that Kyrie's injury does not worsen as he and Lebron compliment each other well and would not want any long term problems.

As I type this at the end of the 3rd quarter of game 4 vs. the Bulls, things certainly do not look good for the Cavs.  However, in sports anything can happen.

A Very Exciting Annoucement

Many of you may be aware that in December of 2014 I began transitioning from being an employed podiatrist at Absolute Healthcare to becoming a solo practitioner.  Late last year, Donald J. Adamov, DPM, PA was formed.  I decided that after close to 10 years in private practice, it was time to "give it a try" on my own.  I figured that I would be able to care for patients the best way I know how and could make my own decisions when it comes to the services I offer my patients.

This is why, I am so excited to announce, that effective Monday, May 4th, I will begin practicing at my new location:

1250 Mariner Blvd.
Spring Hill, Florida 34609
352-606-3950

The new office is just over 2 miles south of the old location at 3376 Mariner Blvd.  It is just south of the YMCA on the same side of the road.  Our office is in the plaza directly behind Susie's Grill.  We have purchased brand new comfortable treatment chairs as well as a state-of-the-art digital x-ray machine.  This machine will allow us to diagnose fractures and other bone problems during your visit.  We are also looking into offering more items to help treat our patients such as arch supports and other medical equipment.

The new office is in addition to adding an additional morning to see patients at the Spring Hill wound care center.  Now in addition to Thursday afternoon, I will be seeing patients Wednesday morning as well.  If you have a wound you can always see us at the Mariner office, and if appropriate, I can then follow-up with you at the wound center.

I look forward to seeing you at the new location!

 

The SAM Conference

I spent an extended weekend at the Florida Podiatric Medical Association's Scientific and Management Conference at the Orlando Hilton.  It was a very valuable weekend to me and I believe that I learned some things that will improve the care I provide to my patients.  Some of you may know that my podiatry practice is transitioning to being a solo private practice.  For my patients, you will see some differences such as in the next few months you might have to fill out some new paperwork and any bills will come from a different place.  However, I will continue to provide the best care that I can provide.  Hopefully, you will notice some increases in convenience.  I am exploring some resources to provide more services at the practice.  For example, instead of simply telling a patient to go and buy a shoe insert at Wal-Mart or the sporting goods store; I am looking to provide the best products I can find for the best value right at the office.  I am also looking to update my website on which I look to add some additional helpful information.

I have blogged before about my 10 years in private practice.  These years of experience have taken me through Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Polk County (Florida), and finally here in Hernando County.  Each one of these practices afforded me valuable experience.  I saw a lot, and learned a lot.  This helped me formulate the absolute best way to care for my patients.  My philosophy is to treat every patient the way I would want myself, my wife, my mother, my father, or my children treated.  I am excited about the future and the care I will provide my patients.

Pascal Dupuis

Most of the people that read my blog know I love to watch ice hockey, and also know that I especially like the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Today, the Penguins announced that winger Pascal Dupuis has a a "blot clot in his lung."  This is more specifically a pulmonary embolism.   A few months ago, I blogged about how American Idol contestant, Michael Johns, lost his life due to a pulmonary embolism.

The Penguins say that Pascal had chest pain and was evaluated and the embolism was found.  He apparently had a blood clot in his leg (DVT = deep vein thrombosis) that traveled to his lungs.  A DVT in the leg is, in and of itself, not the problem.  However, it can cause very painful leg swelling and inflammation.  The problem is if that blood clot breaks away and travels to the lungs it can be deadly.  Most people would go to the ER if they had trouble breathing, but people need to take sudden painful swelling in the leg just as seriously.  Immobilization after injury, as well as being seated for long periods of time (eg, a long airplane trip), can be a couple of the common causes.

Pascal will be unable to play hockey for at least 6 months as he will need to be on anti-coagulants, or blood thinners, for at least that time to prevent further clots.  As most of you know, hockey is a contact sport and blunt trauma and blood thinners are not a good combination.

The Penguins say that Pascal should be able to return to hockey.  Unfortunately, however, this is his second blood clot.  One has to wonder if he would want to risk coming off anti-coagulation as he is obviously prone to developing thrombi in this body.  I guess time will tell, but either way, he will have to closely watch for developing symptoms for the rest of his life.