Publication

Are your bunions killing you? Is a nail deformed by toe fungus getting you down? Do you have diabetes and feel worried about the health of your feet?

For East Lewis County residents, that’s where podiatrist G. Parker Peresko, DPM, steps in. Arbor Health is pleased to add this new specialty to better meet the needs of our community—top-notch foot care close to home. The prefix pod- means foot in Greek. Doctors of podiatric medicine (DPM) treat a wide range of conditions involving the foot, ankle and related structures of the leg.

Our feet and ankles play a vital role in supporting our overall health and well-being. They let us stand, walk, run, exercise, balance and much more. And we can be hard on them. Most of us log a stunning 75,000 miles on our feet by the time we’re 50 years old. That’s a lot of wear and tear.

So it’s not unusual for problems to develop in either the feet or ankles. And when they do, a podiatrist, also called a foot and ankle surgeon, can diagnose the problem and recommend the best treatment.

When Surgery is Needed

Conservative treatments, such as medications, injections, orthotics, or taping or strapping can help treat many foot and ankle problems. But sometimes conservative treatments aren’t enough or the right answer to a problem. In those cases, surgery may be recommended. It may be an option for things like:

• Repairing bunions.
• Easing the pain of arthritis.
• Repairing hammertoes.
• Removing heel spurs.
• Easing metatarsal pain.
• Correcting nail damage or deformity due to infections, or fungus.
• Addressing skin conditions, including lipomas, fibromas, warts, moles and rashes.
• Removing neuromas, a benign enlargement of a nerve that causes numbness, tingling and burning in the toes.
• Repairing tendon injuries.

Rigorous Training

Foot and ankle surgeons attend four years of medical school and then complete three years of hospital-based residency. For Dr. Peresko, that meant medical school at Western University of Health Sciences near Los Angeles. His following three-year medical residency was split between what he considers to be two of the best programs in the country—West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was chief resident, and Swedish Medical Center in Seattle.

Categories: Podiatry