Your Best Foot Forward (Guest: Dr. Yechiel Gellman) | S5 E9

How important are the correct shoes? Is foot health only crucial if you are diabetic? Simple fractures, arthritis - what are the new treatments? In this episode, we're talking to Dr. Yechiel Gellman, senior foot and ankle surgeon at the Hadassah Medical Organization.
#orthopedicsurgery #healthyliving #healthyfeet #medicaleducation #tips #hadassahoncall
April is National Foot Health Awareness Month, and on this month's episode of Hadassah On Call, we're talking to Dr. Yechiel Gellman, senior foot and ankle surgeon at the Hadassah Medical Organization. Dr. Yechiel Gellman shares his perspectives on the evolving landscape of foot and ankle surgery, emphasizing the importance of patient education, collaboration and staying updated with technological advancements.
Dr. Gellman provides an overview of standard foot and ankle issues, such as fractures, deformities, chronic conditions like equinus contracture, acute infections and diabetic foot ulcers. Is foot health only crucial if you are diabetic? Are there new treatments that can save a patient from amputation? He delves into various treatment options, including total ankle replacement as an alternative to ankle fusion, minimally invasive surgical techniques and the use of scopes for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. According to Dr. Gellman, total ankle replacement can preserve motion, take the load off the adjacent joints and allow people much faster rehabilitation.
However, he also shares that non-surgical treatments can be an option, including medications, injections, orthotics and physical therapy to manage foot and ankle conditions.
"When treating a condition, I would usually say there are two options: you can either fit the foot to the shoe or the shoe to fit the foot," Dr. Gellman says.
He also emphasizes the significance of preventative foot care in avoiding complications.
Finally, the conversation concludes with insights into the future of foot and ankle surgery, focusing on advancements in biological treatments, regenerative medicine and better diagnostic tools, all of which are being used at Hadassah.
Hadassah On Call: New Frontiers in Medicine is a production of Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America. Hadassah enhances the health of people around the world through medical education, care and research innovations at the Hadassah Medical Organization. For more information on the latest advances in medicine, please head over to hadassah.org.
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The show is hosted by Maayan Hoffman and produced by the team at the Hadassah offices in both New York and Israel.
Visit www.hadassah.org/hadassahoncall for more episodes.