San Francisco Podiatrist Invited to Lecture to Podiatry Department at Seton Medical Center on Recognizing Subtle Foot Fracture Patterns
Daly City, CA – September 18, 2012. – Today at the Podiatry Section of the Orthopedic Department of Seton Medical Center, the physicians in attendance hear a lecture from San Francisco and Mill Valley Sports Medicine Podiatrist/Surgeon, Dr. Christopher Segler. The lecture was entitled “Lisfranc Injuries: How to NOT Miss the Diagnosis.”
This research was a project led by Dr. Segler through a year long effort to determine how often doctors and surgeons would recognize these known difficult mid-foot fracture patterns on x-ray. He decided to conduct the study after identifying a number of midfoot fractures that he found had gone unrecognized by emergency room physicians. The study was entitled “ The Frequency of Accurate Radiographic Diagnosis of Tarsometatarsal Fracture Dislocations.”
When asked about the impetus for the study, Dr. Segler (the lead researcher on the project) said, “I have seen many patients misdiagnosed with a “foot sprain” when they really had a fracture that just wasn’t recognized on the Emergency Room. These patients continue to have pain, swelling and sometime even bruising of the foot. Over time arthritis sets in, the joints get destroyed and the patient is forced to choose between a life of inactivity or major reconstructive foot surgery. We felt it was important to conduct research that could help other foot surgeons and general orthopedic surgeons to better recognize these broken feet so they can get the correct treatment.”
Tarsometatarsal fractures (also know as Lisfranc’s fractures) often occur in motor vehicle accidents. They can also occur from relatively minor incidents like mountain biking accidents, stepping in a pothole or tripping over a root while running, or dropping something on top of the foot.
Dr. Segler explains “One patient I saw just put his foot down on a rock while stopping on a mountain bike trail in the Marin Headlands. He went to the E.R. and was told to rest, ice, etc., but he wasn’t getting better.”
Many patients with a broken foot will complain of pain, swelling and bruising on the top of the foot. The foot pain may go away after a few days, but then return with just a little bit of walking or running. Any repeated episodes of swelling are very concerning.
Patients that think they have foot pain that is abnormal have reason to be concerned. “I have have actually seen many patients with these injuries that believed their foot was broken, even though they had previously had x-rays and were told by an E.R. doc that it was just a sprain.” Dr. Segler said. “It is important to trust your intuition when you have foot pain and aren’t getting better. A second opinion is never a bad idea.”
Dr. Segler won an award from the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons for this research. He stated that is was an honor to share his findings with his colleagues at Seton Medical Center.
Dr. Christopher Segler is a surgical podiatrist specializing in athletes and the treatment of complicated injuries that do not respond to conventional treatment. He even offers housecalls to athletes and busy professionals in San Francisco, Mill Valley, Berkeley and Oakland.
«« SF Podiatrist Lectures to Foot Experts on Best Treatment of Running Injuries |