SERVICES

Podiatry Services

Dr. Andrew Collins has many years of experience, and can treat all of your foot problems and conditions. Call and talk with the doctor himself. Each and every visit you will work with Dr. Collins individually.

Dr. Collins specializes in the treatment of foot and ankle ailments including the following conditions:

Diabetic Foot Care

Another foot problem with diabetics is foot ulcers, usually on the ball of the foot or toes. They can sometimes come from poorly fitting shoes. They do not always hurt, but calluses should be removed to avoid developing underlying callus ulceration. Ulcerations come from poor sensation of feeling, poor shoe gear, foot deformity, predisposing rubs, and the foot callusing to breakdown. The management of these predisposing factors with preventative care can maintain patient activity and normalcy with the at-risk extremity. The ongoing care can prevent future foreseeable complication that result from poorly maintained at-risk extremities.

Bone Spurs, Bunions, Hammer toes

A bone spur is an abnormal growth of bone on top of normal bone usually caused by stress to the bone over a long period of time. Spurs can happen around joints, associate with cartilage wear down, with joint malalignment, and associated jamming. High impact activities can contribute to them, as well.

Bunions are progressive joint malalignments with possible resultant four-foot protuberance of bone, and overlying soft-tissue bump with inflammation. These joints do not always have to have pain. There can be pain with associated joint jamming, joint limitation, joint inflammation, with or without bony protuberance, or soft-tissue enlargement.

Hammer toes are bent toes from soft-tissue contractors that result in either a flexible bent toe or a progressed, partially flexible, or non-flexible toe with arthritis. These can have associated pain with the tips of the toes, with walking, and over the tops of the toes as rubbing sites in shoe gear. Given proper evaluation, a variety of treatment options are offered in treating these conditions.

Diabetic Ulcers

Another foot problem with diabetes is foot ulcers, usually on the ball of the foot or big toe. It can come from poorly fitting shoes and excessive rub sheer and pressures. They do not hurt many times because of lack of sensation with diabetes, but should be evaluated and treated to avoid complication and infections that can become limb threatening.

Arthritis

There are different types of arthritis, but the main characteristic is inflammation. This causes pain and swelling in the joints. Anti-inflammatory medication, shoe inserts, braces, and surgery are all used to treat this condition, depending on the type and severity.

Toenail Fungus Laser Treatment

Fungus in the toenails is difficult to treat. There are many options in treatments from topicals, to oral medication, the newest FDA approved laser treatment for this ailment. Our laser treatment is shown to be one of the most effective treatments for clearer nail presentation. Call and ask us for more information about our toenail fungus laser treatment.

Injuries, Sprains, and Sports Injuries

Sports and other activities and accidents can results in broken bones, sprains, and other types of sports injuries. While it does take time for these to heal, the proper support and immobilization is key to recovery and preventing permanent damage, which you can only get from a professional such as Dr. Collins.

Wounds

There are many kinds of wounds of the extremity. Some are from pressure resulting in neuropathic ulcers as seen in diabetics. Other ulcerations include ischemic ulceration with poor circulation to venous stasis ulceration from poor circulation and return. There are also wounds caused by trauma, this would include stepping on foreign body.

Dermatitis, Warts, Ingrown Toenails

Skin conditions of all types are examined and treated in a podiatric practice. Suspicious skin lesions are examined and biopsied for identification. Corns and calluses can be debrided and padded to alleviate pain. Warts can be treated a variety of ways depending on their presentation. The options in treatment are medical grade acid topicals, freezing the lesion with no use of needles, laser treatment, and curettage removal with local anesthetic. Ingrown toenail surgery is performed depending on the ingrown toenail severity: cutting the toenail back versus in-office procedures, or removing the offending part of the toenail, either temporarily or permanently.

Foot, Arch, and Heel Pain/Orthotics & Arch Support

Stressors to the feet and other conditions can cause pain in the foot, arch, and heel. Medical management and recommended treatment regimens using multiple modalities often relieves these types of pain.

Q-Clear Laser System

The Q-Clear Laser System is the first high-performance and portable Dual Wavelength Q-Switched Nd:YAG Laser System (1064 nm & 532 nm). It provides treatment of pigmented lesions, such as sun-damaged skin and age spots, and for removal of unwanted tattoos. The Q-Clear Laser is FDA approved for onychomycosis / fungal toenails treatment. It has a higher treatment satisfaction and success rate than other treatment modalities. It is a painless, single treatment protocol with subsequent care evaluation.