From: Martin R. Taubman, DPM, MBA
Here’s another use for a wire marker with an x-ray: Use a tiny lead ball (a tiny piece broken off a paperclip will also work) and paper-tape it to the foot or toe to mark a plantar keratoma, a dorsal or lateral toe “corn,” or a heloma molle. Patients are more likely to clearly understand the etiology of the lesion, and are more amenable to various treatments, such as shoe changes, debridement, padding, or surgery.
Martin R. Taubman, DPM, MBA (Retired), San Diego, CA
From: Joel Lang, DPM
As a follow-up to this old but good lipstick idea, I used my x-ray to confirm that the orthotic corrections were in the right place.
I would place a "thin" loop of bare wire on the patient's foot at the location of the vulnerable part. I would place a "thicker" bare wire on the orthotic indicating the location of the correction to protect that part. Both were held in place temporarily with Scotch tape, available at any home improvement store.
I would then take a DP x-ray of the patient's foot in the shoe to see that the two wires coincide. Using different thicknesses of wire made it easy to differentiate which wire was on the foot and which was on the orthotic.
Joel Lang, DPM, Cheverly, MD (retired)
