Miscellaneous Foot Questions

Q. Just curious about something. What was the sticky pad placed on my thigh during bunion and hammer toe surgery for?

A. A sticky pad applied to the skin of the leg during an outpatient surgery is usually a grounding pad to protect the patient when a bovie cautaurizing unit is used. It is standard of care to use this pad for this purpose.

Q. I have dark circle on my knuckles on my big toe and my second toe. It sometimes appears to be dry. Any ideas on what I can do to get rid of the darkness?

A. Darkened areas should be evaluated by a medical professional however; sometimes repeated friction from shoes may cause some skin irritation causing a darkened area that is usually dry, thickened skin.

Moisturizers containing a mild acid such as urea have been shown to help.

Q. What foods should be avoided with psuedagout? What foods can I eat? Do any help it go away?

A. It is best to check with your primary care doctor with regard to diet recommendations to reduce the risk for pseudogout and gout.