Footdrop - a new treatment
Foot drop also called dropfoot is a difficult condition to live with in many cases. In this situation a person looses the ability to lift their foot up (also called dorsiflex their ankle). Here is a short video showing how it looks. Please watch the left foot.
Foot drop can have many causes, we have treated patients with stroke, after trauma, car accidents, after knee, hip or spine surgery. Even one patient who had a nerve cut by an acupuncture needle. There are medical conditions like peripheral neuropathy or charcot marie tooth, and various cancer teatments that can cause it as well.
No matter the cause, generally the result is a difficulty walking and the need to wear a brace which patients find to be uncomfortable.
There is a treatment that most doctors in the United States do not know exists. Even though the treatment has been around for a hundred years!!!!!! Its a surgical procedure where we take one muscle and move it around the ankle in a way that makes it function like the muscle that was damaged. This is called a tendon transfer procedure and there are many different kinds. It has become a lost art because of the difficult learning curve to do these procedures properly. With enough training for the surgeon the procedure is relatively simple and takes about 30 minutes to one hour to perform. Just like in any other medical treatment, there are risks but most times the benefits outweigh the risks.
Dr. Gitlin has extensive training in these procedures and has a procedure that he developed for a certain type of dropfoot not done anywhere else. And many times during an examination of a patient we find that a tendon transfer is not even necessary. Sometimes a simple tendon release can give enough motion to a leg where there is no more need for a brace altogether. So in other words, this condition is also easlily misdiagnosed completely!
To learn more about the procedure and how we do it click here: DropFoot or call us, Dr. Gitlin will be able to answer any questions on this topic.