Nicholas Campitelli, DPM | Akron Podiatrist | Foot and Ankle Surgeon The Foot Doc Blog – Leading Blog on foot and ankle pain
Providing information on foot, toes, and ankle pain or deformities. Questions? Please ask them in the comments section below. Check out our Youtube and Instagram sites as well.
Plantar warts are viral and sometimes do respond to topical acid therapy if they’re superficial. In this example the patient had plantar warts for 2 years and failed acid therapy and excision was recommended. Excision is simple and performed in the office. If acid therapy fails, this is the simplest treatment method to get rid of plantar warts.
Many people do not realize that skin cancer can occur on the foot. While it is rare, I do see it in my office. I do my best to educate my patients on what to look for, and explain that there is only one person who can tell if it is skin cancer – that person is a pathologist. You need to look at the cells under a microscope to determine if it is malignant, or cancerous.
There are four major things we look at to help determine if it needs biopsied. They are easily remembered by the acronym ABCD’s of skin cancer.
A – Asymmetry
B – Border
C- Color
D – Diameter
Asymmetry – If you were to draw a line through the skin lesion, the sides should look the same.
Border – The borders should be regular and not jagged or irregular.
Color – The color should be regular and equal throughout
Diameter – The diameter or size of the lesion should be no larger than that of a pencil eraser.
The image below shows how the punch biopsy is performed. An injection is administered to numb the skin. A sterile instrument is used to take a 3mm portion of skin from the involved area. The skin is then sent to pathology where it is examined under a microscope to diagnose the condition.
Skin cancer can present in places where you don't always think to look. Dr. Campitelli not only encounters cancerous lesions on the foot, but also treats them on the hand as well.
Skin cancer can arise anywhere on the body. In this particular example a patient presented to me at the University Hospitals Wound Center in The Streetsboro Health Center. She had a lesion or wound on her leg that had been present for almost one year. Initially she felt that it was a blister although it would never completely heal. She was sent to me for evaluation and treatment for a non healing wound.
Melanomas on the feet are rare, but I have seen multiple instances of them occur. Some we were able to excise early enough while others were too advanced and amputation was needed. Here are some simple rules to follow when looking at a suspicious mole or lesion on your skin.
You probably never thought of seeing a podiatrist for a skin check, right? Although malignant melanomas are not common in the foot, they do occur and I have seen them. Here are some examples below.
April 1, 2021
April 1, 2021
August 8, 2020
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August 2, 2020
August 1, 2020
