SFVA Physicians Educate JFK Hospital Podiatry Residents on PAD

Dr. Curtis Anderson

Endovascular Surgeons, Dr. William Julien and Dr. Curtis Anderson invited Palm Beach Podiatrists and 6 Resident from JFK Hospital to learn more about peripheral artery disease (PAD) as it appears in Podiatric patients. The talk was held at Morton's Steakhouse in West Palm Beach. Also in attendance at the dinner, the President of The Palm Beach County Podiatric Medical Association (PBCPMA).

PAD is caused by a thickening of the inside walls of the arteries of your legs. This thickening, called atherosclerosis, narrows the space through which blood can flow, decreasing the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the legs and feet. Poor circulation in the feet can lead to open wounds, gangrene and potentially loss of limb. Endovascular surgey has become very instrumental in the treatment of PAD in podiatric patients because it is a minimally invasive procedure performed inside your artery using a thin, long tube called a catheter which enters through a small incision in the groin. The catheter is then guided to the blocked area in the blood vessel where the vessel can be kept opened by either a stent or a balloon angioplasty.

Endovascular approaches are advantageous for many patients because they are minimally invasive; easier on the patient, result in fewer complications and faster recovery times which have replaced open surgery for most vascular disorders.Endovascular approaches are particularly beneficial to podiatric patients because the endovascular procedure re-establishes blood flow to the feet enabling wounds to heal and provides patients with the opportunity to walk again.

We thank all of the doctors and residents who attended our talk last night.