Foot Health Awareness Month

With St. Francis Podiatrist Dr. David Tran

APRIL IS NATIONAL FOOT HEALTH Awareness Month, an opportune time to spotlight one of the best ways to help combat the potentially devasting disease that can affect one’s foot health: diabetes. This disease is a rampant epidemic in the U.S., with over 130 million people affected. Northeast Louisiana is one of the hotspots for this disease and over 14% of the state’s population is diabetic. Regular visits with primary care providers are crucial for overall management of diabetes. What may be lesser known is the importance of specialty care. All diabetics should also be evaluated by their ophthalmologist and podiatrist on a regular basis. One of the emerging models of care focuses on the preventative aspect of medicine with regular checkups and screenings. St. Francis Health serves as the premier healthcare provider in our community, with a large group of primary care providers as well as a vast team of specialists armed with the knowledge and latest in healthcare technology to serve you.

Podiatrists offer diagnosis and treatment for foot and ankle issues including:

• Acute and chronic problems

• Traumatic injuries

• Fractures/dislocations

• Structural and congenital deformities (bunions, hammer toes)

• Musculoskeletal problems including soft tissue deformities

• Degenerative arthritis

• Diabetic limb salvage

• Charcot neuroarthropathy

• Sports related injuries (Achilles injuries, ankle sprains)

• Flat feet (pes planus)

• High arch feet (pes cavus)

• Wound care

The St. Francis Podiatry Clinic in Monroe offers the above services, as well as some of the most advanced treatments, both conservative and surgical. Dr. David Tran is a podiatric surgeon who has had extensive training in diabetic limb salvage, complex reconstructions of the foot and ankle and minimally invasive surgical techniques, to highlight just a few areas. The area’s only Board-Certified podiatrist, Dr. Tran is part of a multidisciplinary team, working closely with the area’s top vascular surgeons, Dr. Frank Sartor and Dr. Vijay Tanjavur. These physicians, all part of the St. Francis Medical Group, work as a team to decrease the number of major amputations (above knee and below knee) as part of a collaborative effort under the St. Francis Limb Preservation Initiative.

Dr. David Tran, DPM, AACFAS, received his medical degree at Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine, just outside Cleveland, Ohio, followed by a three-year surgical residency at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo, Ohio. Dr. Tran has extensive training in the non-operative and operative management of all conditions affecting the foot and ankle. He has comprehensive surgical training in the treatment of foot and ankle trauma, diabetic limb salvage, total ankle joint replacement (TAR), complex deformity reconstruction of the forefoot and hindfoot, ankle arthroscopy, sports medicine, and minimally invasive surgery, including bunionectomies.