Welcome to the personal website of

Dr. Michael A. Zapf, DPM, MPH, FACFAS, FACFAOM

Thank you for visiting the web site of Dr. Michael Zapf. He is a member of the Agoura-Los Robles Podiatry Centers

The "real" practice web site, the one that contains registration forms, doctor information for all the office and directions to the office is located at:

www.conejofeet.com   ç Click here

I am Dr. Michael Zapf. I have been offering a full range of podiatric medical services, from ingrown nails to heel pain and foot surgery, to my friends and neighbors in the Las Virgenes, Conejo and Simi Valleys since 1985. This is my personal web site. It has been up since 1990 and has received more than 2 million visits. The entire site is my responsibility only and nearly everything on the site was written by me. You are welcome to peruse this site and learn what you can about me, your feet and the problems your feet can develop. Things happen fast in medicine so whatever you read could well be outdated, especially if it was written many years ago. On this site you will read historic articles that I wrote for a lay audience as long as 25 years ago, so please do not take anything on this site as definitive or as applying directly to your condition. You may wonder why I have my own site even though there is also an official practice site. Well, my partners are of a younger generation raised on tweets, e-mails and iPhones. They want a professional site that they believe better represents the professional nature of our practice. They also believe that people no longer take the time to read anything of length. I, on the other foot, think there is still a world out there full of people who still read lengthy descriptions of problems and solutions. if you are one of those old fashioned readers, then this site if for you. Let me know what you think. Let me know you are out there.

Please note that all information and photographs on this site are copyrighted by me, Michael Zapf, DPM, and cannot be used for any private or commercial purposes. I work with two other podiatrists in my practice who may or may not share any of my ideas and philosophy. Do not expect them to practice the way I do or even believe in any of the speculation I present here. If you appreciate what I have written and want me to be your treating doctor, you will have to ask for me specifically. Even if my office says at first, " He is booked until next month",  I still want to see you as long as you are a little flexible with your schedule. If your visit is an emergency, I know that  you will be happy with either of my associates, Dr. Darren Payne or Dr. Steve Benson. They are exceedingly well trained and capable in any foot emergency.

 

Michael Zapf, DPM, MPH, FACFAS, FACFAOM     (If you want to know what all those initials mean, click here   è  

Our office phone number is (818) 707-3668 and my e-mail address is zfootdoc [at] doctor [dot] com

Agoura Hills Office: 28240 Agoura Road, Suite 101, Agoura Hills, CA 91301

Thousand Oaks Office: 555 Marin Street, Suite 290, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360

For the address, hours and registration forms please see the practice web site: www.conejofeet.com


07/24/2010HomeNews+FAQShock Wave

 

To Order Foot Supplies è ç click

For Information about Laser Treatment for Fungal Nails Click hereè
 

For information about Shockwave Therapy for heel pain          click here è

Exciting news!!! New Thousand Oaks Location  è

 

 

 

 

TODAY’S HEALTH December 1995

New Feet

By: Michael Zapf, DPM, MPH, FACFO

The arrival of the new year makes me think of the countless times people have asked me for new feet. While replaceable feet are a long way off, replacing parts of it are here now. Perhaps the most exciting prospect is replacing lost or damaged cartilage. This technology is here now and is being performed on an experimental basis on knees at several centers across the country. Healthy cartilage lines our joints and loss of the cartilage is a major source of painful joint arthritis. In this new surgery healthy cartilage is harvested from a patient and grown in a laboratory. At a later operation the new cartilage cells are placed in an area that has lost its cartilage and allowed to grow. After a few weeks the heretofore damaged joint is good as new. Currently this procedure adds $40,000 to the cost of a knee surgery, but widespread use of this technology should bring down the cost. There is no reason why this procedure cannot be used on other joints, including my favorite ones in the foot.

So what are the current options for foot joints. Well, like with everything medical, prevention is the best policy. While trauma can damage a joint instantly, most of the foot arthritis I see is an accumulation of years of abnormal use of the joint. Some of this misuse can be traced to diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (RA). With RA the body is slowly damaging the delicate joints of the foot and hands. Medical treatment of RA can slow down, if not eliminate, the deformity. More common, and more unfortunate because they could have been corrected, are those joints that are mis-aligned in some way and simply wear out. An untreated bunion condition can cause the big toe joint to wear out. Lack of motion at the big toe joint is notorious for causing joint damage. A foot that is either too flat or, less commonly, too high-arched can develop arthritis of the mid foot. Repeated ankle sprains can cause a weakness of that joint that may develop into arthritis.

Arthritis can be treated medically with a whole host of medications: from lineaments to rub on the foot to oral or injected medications. One of the newer, and safer, agents is a pepper cream. Rubbing the cream several times a day over a painful joint can often lessen the pain. This cream is available without a prescription.

Arthritic joints hurt when the joint is moved so one method of treatment is to not move the joint. Supportive shoes, braces, taping and casts are external ways of limiting joint motion. This can be done surgically by removing the remaining cartilage between two joints and fusing them together. No motion means no pain. No motion also means that the neighboring joints must move more which can cause them to suffer further damage in a viscous circle. For arthritis joints in the middle and rear of the foot fusions are indicated when non-surgical treatments fail.

For the joints around the toes, including the big toe, reasonable good replacement joints exist. These joint replacements are getting more sophisticated with each passing year. While no artificial joint is as good as an undamaged joint, they can provide patients with 15 or more years of pain free motion.

Arthritic damage to the big toe joint is a special case and quite common. The world of foot surgeons is divided into two camps for this joint: the fusers and the users. For the most part podiatric surgeons are users and favor artificial joint replacements for this joint.

Replacement joints for the ankle have been tried but are almost universally unsuccessful.

What’s better than a new foot? Obviously one that does not need replacement. If you find you have foot joints that hurt, by all means do something about it early. After all, how many new sets of feet do you get? Happy New Year!

 

Dr. Michael Zapf is a board certified podiatrist in practice in Agoura Hills and Thousand Oaks. For more information, please call his office at (818) 707-3668 or (805) 497-6979.

   

 

 

 

 

 

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Copyright © 2000 Michael A. Zapf, D.P.M., F.A.C.F.A.S., F.A.C.F.AOA.M.
Last modified: July 24, 2010