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 Things happen fast in medicine so whatever you read could well be outdated, especially if it was written many years ago.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

07/24/2010

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

This article was written for a very short lived publication in our town called Mountain's and Valleys. I think it was published about 1996

What’s A Podiatrist?

By: Michael Zapf, DPM, MPH

 At a chamber mixer the other week I heard a question that is becoming quite rare. On learning that I was a podiatrist a new acquaintance asked me, “What’s a podiatrist?” After regaining my dignity and answering him fully (I talked until his eyes glazed over -it only took a few minutes) I reflected on the question. Only a few short years ago it was estimated that only 5% of the population knew who we were. Today, in many locations, we have become the foot experts. A recent Medicare survey of 20 million Medicare recipients stated that podiatrists did approximately 70% of all foot surgeries with orthopedists, internists and family doctors combined only doing 30%. How did this all come about? I think my inaugural article in Mountains and Valley’s might be a good time to tell you.

 Our roots are with the guild of barber surgeons in the middle ages. In those days your physician was not a surgeon and, if fact, thought surgery demeaning. For surgery, say an amputation or a little bloodletting, you went to your barber. If your barber was trained in surgery he would advertise that fact with a red and white barber pole. The red stripe stood for blood and the white for bandages.

 As medicine evolved surgery was added to the physician’s training. The guild of barber surgeons broke up into specialized areas: cosmetic hair cutting, dentistry (in some cases) and chiropodists who cared for hands and feet. Schools of~ chiropody were started in the late 1600s.

 In the early 1900s a bright chiropodist wondered if a corn would go away if the bone under it removed. He tried it and it worked. Surgical chiropody was born.

 By the mid 1900s surgery was an integral part of the surgical training of chiropodists. To distinguish this new expert in foot surgery the name was changed to podiatrist.

 Today every podiatric medical student is trained in surgical techniques. Many go on to do a residency concentrating in foot surgery at any one of several hundred hospitals across the country. Some states, like California, require residency training for licensure.

 Today most of us do a variety of surgery on the foot from a little laser procedure for an ingrown nail to complete foot re­constructions. On reflection it is quite impressive to note how far the profession has come. It makes me confident enough not to startle when asked “What’s a podiatrist? However, please don’t ask me to “take a little off the side”. That might make me want to do a little bloodletting of my own.

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Dr. Michael Zapf is a podiatrist with a private practice in Agoura. He teaches part time at the LAC/USC Medical Center. For more information call his office at (818) 707-3668.

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