From: Randall Brower, DPM
I am glad this is finally coming to a head. There are two fundamental issues that are being conflated. Hospital admitting privileges vs. surgical privileges. I want to speak to surgical privileging. For the 20 years, I have been practicing in two states and over a dozen hospitals. It is a fact that MANY podiatrists use the IGNORANCE of the credentialing bodies of hospitals and surgery centers to gain surgical privileges they are not certified to perform.
I have seen podiatrists use ABMSP Board Certification (one of a few examples) to get privileges or attempt to get privileges to perform rearfoot and trauma surgery at hospitals. Credentialing boards at hospitals for decades have just assumed that podiatry is the same as other...
Editor's note: Dr. Brower's extended-length letter can be read here.
From: Michael M Rosenblatt, DPM
Bryan C. Markinson, DPM, warned us about the risks of grinding nails and breathing in the detritus and fomites that erupt in that “cloud.” He states he has not ground nails for years. I practiced during the HIV-AIDS crisis. I treated infections, did open debridements, and ground nails for those patients. Those who grind nails all recall the experience of accidentally touching the nail groove with the spinning grinder and erupting into a shower of blood that would go into our face, nose, eyes, and mouth, even if partially covered by a mask and eye protection.
Unfortunately, avoiding this is not an easy answer. Sometimes hypertrophic, fungal nails are a real problem in fitting into footgear for diabetics and other fragile patients. Removing thse nails surgically is not always an answer, as some of these people have very poor...
Editor's Note: Dr. Rosenblatt's extended-length letter can be read here.
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