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 Things happen fast in medicine so whatever you read could well be outdated, especially if it was written many years ago.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

 

 

 

 

ACORN March 1997

What You Need To "Kick" The Habit

By: Michael Zapf, D.P.M., M.P.H., F.A.C.F.O.

Those of you who read this column regularly know that I prefer to take a light style in writing. I tell about a patient with a routine problem and explain how it gets solved and, usually, end with a funny line. Today’s column will be different. I am writing about smoking and the effect it has on the feet. I am warning you it will not be pretty, but it has to be said.

When it comes to smoking related problems, lung cancer, emphysema, discolored teeth and even bad-breath seem to get all the attention. No one mentions feet. But as every podiatrist will tell you, some of the most heart breaking problems involve these often neglected parts of the anatomy.

Arteries are the tubes that bring fresh oxygen-filled blood to the tissues of the body. The biggest is the aorta which is the main artery attached to the heart itself. The further arteries get from the heart, the smaller they are. The farthest structures from the heart are the feet and they have the smallest arteries. If anything hurts the arteries "just a little" it will often show up first in the feet. This is why, of course, podiatrists care a lot about arteries.

Wide-open arteries are best. For most of us they are wide-open at birth. As we go through life they ever so slowly clog up. With proper diet, exercise and the right genes, the process can happen so slowly that we virtually outlive the slow accumulation of damage to our blood vessels. I tell my jogging patients that their vessels may clog up someday, but not until they are 150 years old.

Smoking changes this equation dramatically. Every cigarette, cigar or pipe-full of tobacco increases the rate of artery-clogging. Smoke enough and you will be like Lillian. Lillian is 58 years old and her feet are in trouble. They are cold and dark. The skin is shinny and has no hair growth. In the two places where I can normally find a pulse, there is only stillness. She knows she is in trouble. She has had two by-passes on her legs to bring in more oxygen. Both have failed. By-passes are only good for relatively large vessels. Lillian’s tiny arteries, called arterioles and capillaries, are too clogged to work. She knows exercise will help but she cannot walk more than a block before her legs scream in pain from lack of oxygen and her lungs hunger for more oxygen. We both know what is going to happen the next time she develops an infection or an ulcer on her legs. As I drove home from the office that day I thought about the role cigarettes played on Lillian’s feet. As she drove home, she lit up.

Lillian is proof positive of the dangers of cigarettes. She started smoking as a teenager and has never been able to quit, although she has tried every method. She knows she is going to lose a toe, foot or her leg and she cannot quit smoking. And even if she could, the damage has been done. For as much pleasure she has gotten from her habit, it cannot possibly make up for a life without feet.

Lillian is not the only one. Tobacco use is the single greatest cause of lower extremity amputations that could have been entirely prevented. Prevented by not smoking. I think of this every morning when I drive by a local high school. Out in front there are teenagers acting very adult by smoking. I worry about them. They are so very active and full of life. They feel indestructible. And I know that if she were 16, Lillian would be one of them. Looking back Lillian has expressed regret at ever starting to smoke. Some of these kids will too. I only wish that they had the wisdom that comes with age at 16. A life of smoking cannot possibly be more exciting than spending the last 20 years in a wheel chair.

 

 

Dr. Michael Zapf is a board certified podiatrist with offices in Agoura and Thousand Oaks. For more information you can call his office at (818) 707-3668.

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

Home UpHit Counter

Send mail to (zfootdoc at doctor dot com) with questions or comments about this web site.
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