I'd like to address some of the comments made;
1) You are correct, I should not have used the term "thieves". If patients are willing to pay for the procedure(s), then these doctors are not TRULY thieves (though there is MORE to the story).
2) The American College of Foot & Ankle Surgeons and the American Academy of Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Surgeons (I think that's what it's called) have both put out official statements regarding "cosmetic" foot surgery and the fact that neither organization recommends or supports this type of surgery.
3) When you graduate, there are a LOT of ways to pay off your loans quickly and make the big bucks, and that's an individual decision. You also have to be able to sleep at night knowing that you've done the right thing for your patient. Money could not, or more accurately SHOULD not be your motivating factor in choosing a treatment regimen for your patient(s), or you will lose all objectivity.
4) The problem is that "cosmetic" foot surgery does NOT always help the patient. For that matter NO surgery always helps the patient. However, when performing any surgical procedure, it is imperative to weigh the risks vs. the benefits. When a patient has pain and disability, surgery is a great alternative when conservative care has failed, even though 100% success is never a guarantee. However, ultimately the goal is to have a patient in less pain post operatively than pre-operatively. When a patient is having "cosmetic" foot surgery, there IS no pain or disability pre-operatively, therefore there is a much greater risk vs. benefit ratio. There is a significant chance that patient can have more pain post operatively than he/she did pre-operatively. And the "cosmetic" foot surgeons I know fail to emphasize or discuss that FACT.
5) The vast majority if not ALL of the docs performing "cosmetic" foot surgery and claiming to perform ground-breaking procedures or pioneer/unique procedures are simply full of crap. And THAT is what makes them "thieves" and makes them lose credibility with me and my colleagues. The reason that "cosmetic" foot surgery isn't taught in training, is because these guys in reality aren't doing ANYTHING unique with the exception of marketing and spreading a LOT of B.S.
6) How do you claim to be an expert in cosmetic foot surgery???? Simple, just start telling everyone you're an expert in cosmetic foot surgery. Yes, there are little tricks such as incision placement, type of suture and closure, but once again, in reality, these docs are doing NOTHING unique other than marketing differently.
7) The main reason I said "thieves" is because due to their false claims of their "unique" procedures and false claims of "pioneering" procedures that are done daily in every O.R. in the country, patients are basically being sold a bunch of lies. As a result, these patients are paying TOP DOLLAR for what they perceive is something new, improved or unique, but in reality no different.
Once again, when you graduate, you must decide how you want to practice, and that will not impact me. As I've stated many times on this site, I'm a partner in an extremely busy practice (Kidsfeet has spent time in our offices and will confirm that fact) and patients put their FULL confidence in us. Patients aren't always the brightest and are often desperate and/or vulnerable. It is VERY easy to make money and talk patients into surgery, orthoses, buying things, etc., even if/when it may not be in their best interest, but may be GREAT for your income. We have decided not to practice that way, and as corny as it sounds, have decided to treat patients as we would a member of our family.
There are many practices where a patient will walk in with a history of heel pain for one week and the doc will make the patient a pair of $500 orthoses on the first visit. We don't. There are many practices when a patient walks in with a bunion that has been present for 30 years and asymptomatic flared up due to a new pair of shoes, and the doctor will book the surgery. We don't. There are practices that sell a patient twenty useless items before they leave the office during their first visit. We don't. There are offices that ROUTINELY take bilateral foot x-rays as a "baseline" on all new patients who have "good" insurance. We don't.
The list goes on and on and on. So yes, there are many ways to scam the public and get rich quick. The public puts their confidence in you to do what's best for them, not to do what's best for your bank account. And that includes being honest with your patient and not fabricating false credentials, making false claims or making promises you can't keep.
I will give one great recent example. I had a female patient 35 years of age, who is active, healthy and in great physical shape. I performed a few surgical procedures on her right foot with fixation which fortunately turned out well and with no complications. She switched insurance and wanted her other foot taken care of due to constant pain. Her new insurance required her to have a second opinion. So she went to a local DPM. She came back to my office to have the surgery scheduled and she said the other DPM wasn't really sure if the surgery was needed (by the way, he does NOT perform surgery), but he was really nice and performed VASCULAR testing on her in his office. I asked her if she would think he was "really nice" if she knew he billed her insurance over ONE THOUSAND dollars for that test and she flipped out.
I called this a-hole doctor and asked him WHY he would perform vascular testing on an extremely healthy 35 y/o female patient, who is taking no medication, does not smoke, has excellent pulses AND just had surgery on the other foot and healed perfectly!!! His answer to me was "Ah, I see your point......I should have sent the patient back to you so YOU could have done the test and made all that money".
He didn't get it. There was NO reason to perform vascular testing on this patient OTHER than to get paid. He saw an opportunity to make money, even though the patient did not need this test, and he took advantage of the opportunity. It did the patient no harm, but it is an abuse of the system.
So yes, you CAN make money a lot of ways, but in my opinion there are morals and ethics that should come into play. And AGAIN, money should not be your motivating factor in treatment choices or I feel very sorry for your patients.
